Hidh  School  Enfilish 


kMrMrIodBqq 


Keel^r  and  AdL 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


GIFT  OF 

Dr.  ERNEST  C.  MOORE 


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HIGH   SCHOOL  ENGLISH 


A   MANUAL   OF 


COMPOSITION  AND  LITERATURE 


BY 

HARRIET    L.    KEELER 

AND 

MARY    E.    ADAMS 

OF  THE  CENTRAL   HIGH   SCHOOL,   CLEVELAND 


ALLYN     AND     BACON 
Boston  anti   dfn'rap 


COPYRIGHT,    1906,   BY 

HARRIET  L.    KEELER  AND 

MARY  E.   ADAMS 


t     t        t   t    * 


PREFACE. 


The  popular  demand  that  English  literature  be  taught  in 
all  schools,  the  entrance  requirements  of  the  colleges,  the 
interscholastic  debates  and  oratorical  contests,  the  increas- 
ing number  of  societies  and  literary  clubs  among  the  pupils, 
and  the  recent  development  of  school  journalism,  have 
all  contributed  to  make  the  students  of  our  secondary 
schools  appreciate  more  than  ever  before  the  value  of  the 
study  of  English  as  a  factor  in  education. 

The  aim  of  this  volume  is  to  give  direct  and  practical 
assistance  to  students  in  their  literary  activities,  and  to 
guide  them  so  that  they  may  learn  to  help  themselves. 

In  the  opening  chapters  of  this  book,  the  principles  of 
composition  have  been  presented  with  the  idea  of  meeting 
the  needs  of  beginning  classes.  The  last  four  chapters  are 
designed  for  students  of  advanced  grades. 

The  authors  wish  to  express  their  deep  indebtedness  to 
their  associates  in  the  high  schools  of  Cleveland. 

Cleveland,  Ohio, 
May,  1906. 


in 


215180 


CONTENTS. 


Chapter  I.     The  Art  of  Reading 1 

Preparation  for  Reading.  Reading  Aloud.  Faults  of  Ar- 
ticulation and  Pronunciation. 

Chapter  II.     The  Art  of  Composition 9 

Secret  of  Good  Composition.  Narration  of  Personal  Experi- 
ences. Carefully  Prepared  Manuscript.  Correct  Spelling. 
Oral  Narration.  Description.  Explanation.  Argumenta- 
tion. 

Chapter  III.     Narration 20 

The  Scope  of  Narration.  Three  Distinct  Elements  in  Nar- 
ration. Simple  Forms  of  Narration.  The  Anecdote.  Nar- 
ration as  a  Literary  Form.     How  to  write  a  Short  Narrative. 

Chapter  IV.     Words  .         . 30 

Definition.  Synonyms  and  Antonyms.  What  Words  De- 
note. What  Words  Connote.  General  Terms.  Specific 
Terms.  Literal,  Colloquial,  and  Illiterate  English.  Slang 
Expressions.  Personal  Vocabulary.  Value  of  Quotation. 
Rhetorical  Figures:  Simile,  Metaphor,  Metonymy,  Synec- 
doche. 

Chapter  V.     Sentences 49 

Qualities  of  a  Good  Sentence :  Clearness,  Unity,  Strength, 
Harmony.  Grammatical  Correctness.  Rhetorical  Sentence- 
forms  :  Loose,  Periodic,  Balanced.  Long  and  Short  Sen- 
tences. 

v 


VI  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Chapter  VI.     The  Paragraph 65 

A  Typical  Paragraph.  Different  Paragraph-forms :  Dia- 
logue, Single  Sentence,  Poetry.     Editorial  Paragraphs. 

Chapter  VII.     Description 76 

Three  Types  of  Description.  The  Point  of  View.  En- 
riched Description.  Objective  and  Subjective  Description. 
Methods  of  Describing.  Description  of  Persons.  Popular 
Descriptions  of  Animals,  Plants,  and  Flowers. 

Chapter  VIII.     Narration  and  Description  Combined       .         .       94 

Scope.  Story -arrangement  and  Drama-arrangement.  Vari- 
ous Ways  of  Beginning  a  Story.  How  to  write  a  Story 
for  a  School  Paper.  How  to  write  a  Biographical  Sketch. 
The  Study  of  History  as  an  Exercise  in  Narration  and 
Description  combined. 

Chapter  IX.     Versification 106 

Time-beat  or  Metrical  Accent.  Standard  Forms  of  Metrical 
Feet:  Iambus,  Trochee,  Anapest,  Dactyl.  Substitute  Feet. 
Verse.  Meter.  Rhythm.  Csesural  Pause.  Rhyme.  Al- 
literation. Assonance.  Sonnet.  Classification  of  Poetry : 
Narrative,  Dramatic,  Lyric,  Idyllic. 

Chapter  X.     Exposition 128 

Practical  and  Intellectual  Value.  Literary  Forms.  Ordi- 
nary Methods  of  Exposition.  Criticism.  Reviews.  School 
Essay.  The  Theme.  Arrangement  of  Material.  How  to 
write  a  School  Oration. 

Chapter  XL     Higher  Qualities  of  Style 163 

Essentials  of  Good  Style.  Higher  Qualities.  Force:  Allu- 
sion, Epigram.  Emphasis:  Repetition,  Irony,  Climax,  An- 
tithesis, Parallel,  Series.  Life :  Simile  and  Metaphor, 
Epithet,  Personification  and  Apostrophe,  Metonymy  and 
Synecdoche,   Interrogation    and    Exclamation,    Hyperbole, 


CONTENTS.  Vll 


I>AGE 


Narrative  Vividness,  Effective  Description,  Onomatopoeia. 
Variety :  Short  Sentence,  Long  Sentence.  Digression. 
Litotes.     Smoothness.     Value  of  Translation. 

Chapter  XII.     Argumentation 190 

Inductive  Reasoning.  Underlying  Principle  of  All  Inductive 
Reasoning.  Literary  Form  of  Inductive  Reasoning.  Propo- 
sitions. Deductive  Reasoning.  The  Syllogism.  Antece- 
dent Probability.  Suppressed  Premises.  Argument  from 
Cause.  Argument  from  Effect  back  to  Cause.  Method  of 
Exclusion.  Argument  from  Sign.  Argument  from  Analogy. 
Testimony.  Proof.  Refutation.  Persuasion.  Debate. 
School  Debate.     How  to  prepare  for  a  School  Debate. 


Chapter  XIII.     Voluntary  Reading 

Supplementary  Reading  List  :  Poetry,  Prose  . 

Appendix  A.     Correspondence 

Appendix  B.     Punctuation 

Appendix  C.     Studies  of  Masterpieces  of  English  Literature 
Types  selected  from  College  Requirements. 


227 
231 
235 
239 
243 


Chronological  Chart 271 

Index  of  Authors  Quoted        .......     273 

General  Index    . 276 


HIGH   SCHOOL  ENGLISH. 

CHAPTER   I. 

THE  ART  OF  EEADING. 

PREPARATION    FOR    READING  —  READING    ALOUD  — 
FAULTS   OF    ARTICULATION    AND    PRONUNCIATION. 

"  With  the  art  of  writing,"  says  Carlyle,  "  the  true 
reigu  of  miracles  for  mankind  commenced."  "If  we 
think  of  it,"  he  continues,  "  all  that  a  university  can  do 
for  us  is  still  but  what  the  first  school  began  doing  — 
teach  us  to  read."  The  ability  to  read  is,  indeed,  the 
key  which  opens  to  us  the  world  of  thought  and  imag- 
ination. It  admits  us  to  the  company  of  the  sages  and 
the  saints,  the  poets,  the  wits,  and  the  scholars  of  all 
peoples  and  of  all  time.  It  brings  within  our  reach  all 
that  the  world  knows  or  has  known. 

But  the  reading  that  Carlyle  means  is  not  simply  the 
recognition  of  words  ;  it  is  the  bringing  into  the  mind 
of  the  reader,  by  means  of  words,  the  thoughts,  the 
pictures,  the  emotions,  that  were  in  the  mind  of  the 
author  when  he  wrote  the  words.  This,  and  this  alone, 
is  the  art  of  reading.  If,  as  you  read,  you  cannot  see 
Silas  Marner  counting  his  store  of  gold,  if  the  Saxon 
Cedric  does  not  stand  out  in  Ivanhoe  as  though  photo- 
graphed, if   you   cannot  see  Sir  Launfal  as  he  makes 

1 


2  THE  ART  OF  READING. 

"morn  through  the  darksome  gate,"  if  Evangeline  is 
but  a  name  and  not  a  sad,  lonely  maiden  seeking  her 
lover,  —  then  you  do  not  read  in  the  sense  that  Carlyle 
means.  The  real  reader  is  one  who  brings  out  from 
the  printed  page  what  the  writer  put  into  it. 

The  more  you  know  the  better  you  can  read.  One  who 
has  crossed  the  United  States  from  ocean  to  ocean, 
who  has  seen  the  rushing  waters  of  the  Mississippi, 
who  knows  the  broad,  treeless  prairies,  who  has  climbed 
the  steeps  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  who  has  wondered 
at  the  silent  desert,  and  who  has  enjoyed  the  marvel- 
lous fertility  of  the  Pacific  slope,  can  read  of  his  country's 
resources  with  an  understanding  a  hundredfold  greater 
than  can  one  who  has  had  none  of  these  experiences. 

Preparation  for  Reading.  —  The  preparation  of  the 
mind  for  reading  comes  from  many  sources,  —  personal 
observation  of  nature,  acquaintance  with  many  persons, 
knowledge  of  books,  and  quiet  thinking  upon  what  one 
has  seen  and  heard.  Of  all  these  sources,  nature  con- 
tributes most.  The  days  of  camp  life  in  the  woods  or 
by  the  water,  the  hunt  for  wild  flowers,  the  keen  atten- 
tion to  catch  the  wild  bird's  note,  the  study  of  the  sky 
for  fair  weather  or  foul,  —  all  these  experiences  fill  the 
mind  with  ideas  and  pictures  which  are  afterwards  rec- 
ognized upon  the  printed  page,  where  before  they  ex- 
isted unnoticed  and  unknown. 

The  art  of  reading  is  not  a  gift  of  nature,  —  it  is  the 
result  of  thought,  of  careful  study,  of  continued  mental 
application.  This  training  is  largely  self -training,  and 
fortunately  the  means  to  continue  it  are  ever  at  hand. 
The  first  thing  is  to  make  this  study  of  reading  a  daily 


PREPARATION  FOR   READING.  6 

care.  As  you  read  ask  yourself,  what  does  this  word 
mean  in  this  connection  ?  What  does  this  sentence  say  ? 
What  is  the  thought  that  this  paragraph  emphasizes  ? 
What  is  this  entire  essay  about  ?  What  does  this  story 
really  tell  ?  Why  was  this  poem  written  ?  These  may 
seem  very  simple  questions,  but  the  correct  answers  take 
hold  of  the  most  vital  issues  of  scholarship.  A  reader 
must  consciously  or  unconsciously  answer  these  ques- 
tions,- or  he  does  not  read. 

Moreover,  the  art  of  reading  includes  the  art  of  read- 
ing aloud.  A  good  story  is  all  the  better  for  being  in- 
terpreted by  one  who  understands  the  play  of  human 
emotion  and  human  motive.  The  roll  and  rhythm  and 
thunder  of  a  great  speech  can  be  brought  back  to  life 
only  by  the  power  of  the  human  voice ;  and  as  for 
poetry,  to  be  fully  appreciated  it  should  be  read  aloud. 

The  ability  to  read  well  comes  only  from  practice. 
Understand  and  be  interested  in  what  you  read,  then 
try  to  make  some  one  else  understand  and  be  interested. 
The  training  of  the  voice  in  articulation  and  inflection  is 
wholly  secondary  to  the  important  principle — be  inter- 
ested yourself,  then  try  to  interest  others. 

EXERCISE. 

Competitive  reading  of  prose  by  individual  members  of  the 
class  ;  class  to  decide  the  competition  by  majority  vote  :  — 

Selections  chosen  by  each  participant. 
Selections  chosen  by  the  teacher. 
Selections  chosen  by  the  class. 

Competitive  reading  of  poetry  :  — 
Selections  chosen  as  before. 


4  THE  ART   OF  READING. 

Competitive  reading;  to  be  judged  by  the  ability  of  the  readers 
to  meet  the  following  conditions  :  — 

When  the  hearers  are  near  at  hand. 

When  the  hearers  are  across  the  schoolroom. 

When  the  hearers  are  at  a  distance,  as  in  an  auditorium. 

Competitive  reading  of  humorous  —  pathetic  —  narrative  —  de- 
scriptive —  argumentative  selections. 

SUGGESTIONS  TO  READERS. 

Do  not  read  rapidly ;  take  time  to  understand  and  to 
express  the  thought  of  the  text. 

Do  not  permit  yourself  to  get  out  of  breath;  do  not  sup- 
pose that  you  should  pause  only  where  there  is  a  mark  of 
punctuation. 

Avoid  beginning  a  sentence  with  great  stress ;  or  with  a 
high  pitch  which  decreases  as  the  sentence  goes  on. 

Be  careful  to  speak  the  last  syllable  of  each  word  clearly 
and  distinctly. 

Competitive  reading  makes  us  conscious  of  our  own 
defects.  We  soon  learn  that  in  order  to  read  accept- 
ably to  others  we  must  possess  an  agreeable  voice. 
The  human  voice  is  like  an  orchestra,  —  capable  of 
expressing  every  phase  of  human  emotion,  —  but  it 
must  be  cultivated  and  controlled.  Voices  naturally 
differ  ;  some  are  more  agreeable  than  others,  but  every 
one  can  train  and  improve  his  speaking  voice. 

Faults  of  Oral  Reading.  —  The  chief  faults  which  mar 
oral  reading  are  careless  pronunciation,  indistinct  artic- 
ulation, and  unpleasant  tones.  These  faults  may  be 
divided  into  two  classes  :  — 

Local, —  those  common  to  the  majority  of  the  persons 
in  a  community  or  in  a  geographical  district. 


FAULTS   OF  ORAL   READING.  5 

Personal,  —  those  which  are  peculiar  to  the  indi- 
vidual. 

Among  local  errors  may  be  noted :  placing  a  final  r 
where  it  does  not  belong,  thus  changing  law  into  lawr, 
or  saw  into  sawr;  inability  to  pronounce  the  r  where  it 
does  occur  ;  the  introduction  of  an  a-sound  in  such 
words  as  house  or  cow,  transforming  them  into  haouse 
and  caow ;  flattening  the  sound  of  a  in  such  words  as 
calm  and  half;  last  of  all,  and  perhaps  worst  of  all,  — 
so  widespread  that  it  cannot  be  definitely  localized,  so 
habitual  that  our  ears  have  become  dulled  to  the  sound, 
—  is  the  tendency  to  clip,  smother,  and  degrade  the 
vowel  sounds,  until,  upon  the  lips  of  the  careless  as 
well  as  the  uneducated,  English  speech  becomes  a  mass 
of  hisses  and  splutters,  united  by  many  slovenly  uh's 
which  do  duty  for  every  vowel  sound  in  the  language. 

Usually  the  pupils  of  a  class  have  many  mispronun- 
ciations in  common,  so  that  it  is  possible  to  make  a 
class  list  of  errors.  The  correction  of  these  errors 
greatly  improves  the  pronunciation  of  each  individual. 

EXAMPLE  OF  A  CLASS  GROUP   OF  ERRORS. 

In  the  following  list  the  pupils  are  warned  what  they  should  not 
say  ;  it  is  assumed  that  they  know  the  correct  pronunciation. 


and     not  and-ah 

poetry      not  po-ut-ry 

yes      not  ye-ah 

history     not  Ms-try 

for      not  fur 

hundred  not  hund-erd 

was     not  wuz 

children  not  child-em 

just     not  jest 

July        not  Jul-ly 

catch  not  ketch 

terrible  not  turruble 

poem  not  pome 

figure      not  figger 

water  not  waht-ter 

because  not  be-cuz 

6  THE  ART  OF  READING. 

The  standard  dictionaries  record  the  accepted  pro- 
nunciation of  every  English  word.  This  must  be  ob- 
served by  all  who  wish  to  read  acceptably  to  others. 

EXERCISE  TO  IMPROVE  ARTICULATION. 

Repeat  the  following  sentences  rapidly  and  correctly.  The  list 
may  be  enlarged  at  will. 

Merry  maidens  make  mirth. 

Shall  she  sell  sea-shells  ? 

Shoes  and  socks  shock  Susan. 

Peter  Piper  picked  a  peck  of  pickled  peppers. 

He  saw  an  old  man  roll  railroad  iron. 

Amidst  the  mists  with  stoutest  boasts, 
He  thrusts  his  fists  against  the  posts, 
And  still  insists  he  sees  the  ghosts. 


WORDS  TO  BE  CAREFULLY  PRONOUNCED. 

Such  a  list  may  be  taken  from  any  book  used  in  the  class  room. 
The  following  is  selected  from  the  play  of  Julius  Ccesar.  Care 
should  be  exercised  to  give  to  each  word  all  of  its  syllables ;  when 
one  syllable  is  accented,  the  others  do  not  lose  their  values. 


ancestors 

figures 

rebel 

answer 

ghosts 

rudeness 

augurs 

gravity 

senators 

beware 

holiday 

spirit 

civil 

impossible 

sudden 

color 

indifferent 

suitors 

cruel 

ingratitude 

traitors 

dishonor 

judgment 

unicorns 

endure 

lupercal 

watchful 

fearful 

meanest 

windows 

fiery 

performance 

wrath  fully 

FAULTS   OF  THE  SPEAKING    VOICE. 


SUGGESTIONS  TO  THE  READER. 

In  pronouncing  such  final  unaccented  syllables  as  -ment, 
-cent,  -ence,  -ent,  -stant,  -ant,  -al,  -et,  -lar,  -less,  and  -ness,  it  is 
important  to  make  the  quality  of  the  vowel  sound  distinct 
so  as  to  avoid  saying  munt,  sunt,  unce,  unt,  stunt,  ul,  lur,  luss, 
and  nuss.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  equally  important  to 
avoid  placing  undue  stress  upon  the  syllable. 

Do  not  destroy  the  short  sounds  of  e  and  i  in  the  unac- 
cented syllables  of  such  words  as  benefit,  solitude,  making 
them  benufut,  solutude. 

Keep  the  quality  of  the  o  sound  in  final  or  in  such  words 
as  splendor,  honor.  Think  of  them  as  spelled  in  the  Eng- 
lish fashion,  —  splendour,  honour. 

The  sound  especially  represented  by  au  and  aiv,  in  awe, 
draiv,  haul;  found  in  talk,  water,  appal,  balsam;  also  in 
bought,  taught,  daughter,  —  should  be  particularly  regarded. 
There  is  a  strong  tendency  to  displace  this  sound  with  that 
of  a  in  father. 

Acquire  the  accepted  sound  of  a  in  answer,  basket,  fast. 
The  tendency  is  to  sound  the  a  short,  as  in  can;  the  pre- 
ferred sound  lies  between  a  as  in  fat  and  a  as  in  father. 

In  correct  articulation,  the  words  are  not  to  be  hur- 
ried over ;  nor  precipitated  syllable  over  syllable ;  nor 
melted  into  a  mass  of  confusion ;  but  each  word  should 
be  clear,  distinct,  and  perfectly  finished. 

Faults  of  the  Speaking  Voice.  —  In  order  that  the 
speaking  voice  should  be  agreeable,  the  following  faults 
must  be  guarded  against :  — 

A  nasal  tone,  which  is  often  used  unconsciously. 

A  thin,  monotonous  tone,  devoid  of  modulation,  which 
under  excitement  becomes  sharp  and  shrill. 

A  deep,  guttural  tone. 


8  THE  ART  OF  READING. 


SUGGESTIONS  FOR  INDIVIDUAL  PRACTICE. 

To  correct  a  nasal  tone  :  repeat  the  sounds  of  m  and  b. 

Habitually  use  a  full  tone  rather  than  a  thin  one.  A 
shrill,  thin,  sharp  voice  carries  with  it  no  dignity ;  it  even 
suggests  a  lack  of  self-respect.  Do  not  scream  in  talking, 
even  when  excited  or  very  happy. 

For  clearness  and  purity  of  tone :  practise  the  group 
ah,  oo,  ee,  repeating  the  sounds  correctly  and  carefully. 

Opportunity  of  the  Class  Room.  —  The  daily  recitation 
of  the  class  room  is  a  daily  training  either  in  correct 
habits  or  in  slovenly  habits  of  speaking.  Those  who 
wish  to  read  or  speak  well  should  see  to  it  that  their 
daily  recitations  do  not  destroy  all  that  they  have  tried 
to  acquire  in  their  reading  exercise. 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE  AET  OF  COMPOSITION. 

SECRET  OF  GOOD  COMPOSITION  —  NARRATION  OF 
PERSONAL  EXPERIENCES  —  CAREFULLY  PREPARED 
MANUSCRIPT  —  CORRECT  SPELLING  —  ORAL  NARRA- 
TION —  DESCRIPTION  —  EXPLANATION  —  ARGUMEN- 
TATION. 

The  art  of  composition  is  acquired  by  practice  in 
composition  ;  not  by  reading  what  others  have  written 
or  by  hearing  what  others  say.  We  can  learn  much 
both  by  reading  and  by  hearing ;  but  in  the  end  we 
shall  find  that  our  use  of  language  is  a  very  personal 
matter.  In  respect  to  clearness  and  correctness  our 
language  is  just  what  we  are  willing  that  it  should  be. 
If  we  speak  incorrectly,  it  is  because  we  are  careless  in 
regard  to  our  faults  or  indifferent  to  them.  If  we  com- 
pose awkwardly,  it  is  largely  because  we  do  not  prac- 
tise enough  to  give  ourselves  ease  in  composition. 

We  write  best  about  those  things  concerning  which 
we  know  most,  and  those  in  which  we  are  most  inter- 
ested. The  secret  of  good  composition  lies  in  the  effort 
to  produce  in  others  the  feelings  that  we  have  ourselves 
experienced.  We  cannot  write  clearly  unless  we  think 
clearly,  and  we  cannot  interest  others  in  what  we  say 
unless  we  ourselves  have  a  sincere  interest  in  it.  We 
often  regard  our  own  thoughts  as  so  simple  and  com- 

9 


10  THE  AET   OF  COMPOSITION. 

monplace  as  not  to  be  worth  recording.  But  great 
writers  prove  their  greatness  by  the  skill  and  accuracy 
with  which  they  relate  simple  incidents  of  their  own 
experience.  Hence,  it  is  an  excellent  plan  to  study 
how  others  have  written  upon  subjects  similar  to  those 
that  we  have  chosen.  In  this  way  we  obtain  valuable 
suggestions  for  our  own  work. 

SUBJECTS  FOR  NARRATION. 

In  all  these  exercises,  the  writer  should  try  to  use  a  plain,  clear, 
interesting  way  of  telling  simple  things.  The  list  of  subjects 
may  be  enlarged  indefinitely ;  the  essential  point  is  that  each 
writer  shall  personally  know  something  about  the  topic  upon 
which  he  writes ;  that  he  shall  not  get  his  knowledge  from 
the  writings  of  others. 


'&■- 


Our  Picnic. 

Relate  the  incidents  of  the  day,  simply  and  accurately :  mis- 
haps—  amusements.  Tell  about  the  weather  —  trees  —  flowers  — 
birds  —  animals. 

Our  Fishing  Excursion. 

Describe  the  stream  :  breadth  —  depth  —  character  of  bottom  — 
places  fish  like  best.     Incidents:  luck  —  time  of  year  —  weather. 

The  Building  of  a  Bird's  Nest. 

Follow  the  construction  of  the  nest  from  the  selection  of  the 
place  by  the  birds  until  the  nest  is  completed.  This  should  be 
done  by  some  one  who  has  carefully  watched  the  birds  at  work. 
Consider  the  words  describing  their  action  and  feeling. 

A  Walk  in  Autumn. 

Note  the  difference  made  by  the  season  in  all  out-door  objects. 
Read  Whittier's  Last  Walk  in  Autumn  for  suggestions  of  what  to 
look  for. 


NARRATION  OF  PERSONAL   EXPERIENCES.       11 

Two  Christmas  Days. 

Select  two  most  unlike  in  incident  and  make  comparisons. 
Here  is  an  opportunity  for  anecdote. 

My  Best  Fourth  of  July. 
Use  words  of  noise  —  action. 

The  Week  we  camped  out. 

Indicate  work  —  pleasures  —  mishaps. 

A  Yachting  Incident. 

Note  action  —  strength  of  wind  —  color  of  water  —  character  of 
clouds. 

How  I  spent  Saturday. 

Narrate  events  in  the  order  of  time. 

A  Visit  to  a  Creamery. 
Twenty  Miles  on  a  Bicycle. 
A  Trip  in  an  Automobile. 
One  Day  at  the  Exposition. 
A  Day  at  our  County  Fair. 
An  Hour  in  a  Department  Store. 
A  Visit  to  a  Coal-mine. 

SUGGESTIONS  TO  THE  WRITER. 

First  note  the  several  events  that  you  intend  to  relate. 
Put  them  in  the  order  you  think  most  effective.  Then 
write ;  do  not  pass  over  interesting  detail  as  unimportant. 
The  important  thing  is  that  your  readers  shall  be  interested. 

Study  critically  what  you  have  written.  Have  you  di- 
gressed too  much  from  the  thread  of  your  story  ?  Would 
an  anecdote  or  a  quotation  have  enlivened  your  narrative  ? 
Have  you  given  so  much  detail  as  to  weary  your  readers  ? 
Have  you  given  so  little  that  your  narrative  is  meagre  and 
uninteresting  ? 


12  THE  ART  OF  COMPOSITION. 

A  Carefully  Prepared  Manuscript A  pupil  often  pre- 
sents a  written  exercise  in  which  the  subject-matter  is 
fairly  correct,  but  the  paper  is  so  marred  by  faults  of 
form  and  arrangement  as  to  be  practically  worthless. 
Attention  to  the  following  suggestions  will  add  greatly 
to  the  value  of  a  manuscript :  — 

Write  legibly  ;  write  on  one  side  of  the  paper  only. 

Write  the  subject  or  title  carefully  in  its  proper  place. 

Allow  a  reasonable  margin  of  blank  paper  at  each 
side  of  the  page. 

Do  not  crowd  your  words  together.  Spell  correctly 
the  words  you  use.  Make  no  abbreviations,  except 
such  as  are  generally  accepted.  Do  not  omit  the  sign 
of  possession  where  it  is  required. 

See  that  each  of  your  paragraphs  has  one  principal 
topic. 

Make  sure  that  each  relative  and  each  personal  pronoun 
which  you  use  has  an  antecedent;  and  that  it  agrees 
with  its  antecedent  in  person  and  in  number. 

Remember  that  short  sentences  are  more  easily  con- 
structed and  more  readily  understood  than  long  ones. 

If  a  word  must  be  divided  at  the  end  of  a  line,  make 
the  division  between  two  syllables.  Always  indicate 
the  division  by  a  hyphen. 

Test  every  exercise  by  the  foregoing  rules,  and  if  it 
does  not  reach  the  standard,  rewrite  it.  Continue  this 
practice  until  you  are  able  to  produce  a  paper  that  in 
form,  at  least,  is  correct. 

Correct  Spelling.  —  At  first,  each  writer  will  probably 
find  in  his  manuscript  one  or  more  misspelled  words. 
English  orthography  is  difficult ;  nevertheless,  all  who 


CORRECT  SPELLING. 


13 


speak  the  English  language  must  learn  to  spell  the 
English  words,  or  must  continue  under  a  serious  disad- 
vantage. There  is  no  possible  release  from  this  require- 
ment. After  the  "spelling-book"  period  is  passed, 
spelling  becomes  a  personal  matter  of  extreme  impor- 
tance to  every  individual  ;  and  the  inability  to  spell 
correctly  is  a  serious  handicap,  both  in  society  and  in 
business. 


SUGGESTIONS  FOR  INDIVIDUAL  STUDY. 

Try  to  visualize  words.  The  habit  of  doing  this  may  be 
acquired  both  when  studying  text-books  and  when  reading 
for  entertainment.  Look  away  from  the  printed  page  and 
try  to  see  the  word  exactly  as  it  is,  —  the  precise  arrange- 
ment of  the  letters,  —  then  look  at  the  text  and  test  your 
accuracy. 

Write  in  different  ways  any  word  about  which  you  are 
doubtful;  your  eye  will  often  decide  which  spelling  is 
correct. 

Many  pupils  may  be  able  to  select  from  the  following  list  words 
which  they  misspell  and  upon  which  they  should  concentrate 
attention. 


abbreviate 

acknowledgment 

annually 

attendance 

believe 

bouquet 

calendar 

calender 

capital 

capitol 

carriage 


cemetery 

chimney 

Christian 

column 

committee 

consul 

council 

counsel 

dependence 

describe 

despair 


destroy 

develop 

disappoint 

dissipate 

embarrass 

existence 

financier 

fulfil 

harass 

innuendo 

intercede 


14 


THE  ART  OF  COMPOSITION. 


inveigle 

prejudice 

sieve 

irritable 

principal 

specially 

judgment 

principle 

stationary 

knowledge 

privilege 

stationery 

laboratory 

procedure 

succeed 

medicine 

proceed 

supersede 

oblige 

really 

surprise 

occurred 

receipt 

too 

opportunity 

receive 

two 

origin 

recipe 

until 

perceive 

relief 

vegetable 

perseverance 

reversible 

villain 

picnicking 

secretary 

volume 

precede 

separate 

weather 

precedence 

siege 

whether 

Particular  attention  should  be  given  at  all  times  by 
students  to  the  large  class  of  English  words  ending  in 
able  or  ible.  There  are  more  than  sixteen  hundred  of 
these  words,  and  no  general  rule  can  be  given  which 
will  readily  indicate  the  proper  spelling.  We  must  fix 
them  in  our  memory,  as  far  as  possible  ;  and  consult 
a  good  dictionary  whenever  we  are  in  doubt. 

Spelling  of  Technical  Words.  —  When  beginning  the 
study  of  a  new  subject,  the  student  should  always  make 
a  special  effort  to  acquire  the  correct  spelling  of  the 
technical  words  belonging  to  that  subject. 


EXERCISE. 

Observe  this  list  of  technical  words  belonging  to  Geometry, 
chord  cylinder  equilateral 


corollary 


diameter 


homologous 


ORAL   NARRATION.  15 

hypotenuse  parallel  radius 

isosceles  proportion  ratio 

Make  a  similar  list  for  Algebra,  Rhetoric,  Physical  Geography, 
Physics,  History,  and  Chemistry,  as  you  take  up  these  studies  in 
your  school  course. 

Oral  Narration.  —  We  should  learn  to  tell  a  story  as 
well  as  to  write  one.  In  the  class  room  it  is  best  to 
stand  when  speaking.  The  faults  which  frequently 
mar  an  oral  exercise  are  :  — 

A  slovenly  position  when  standing. 

An  inability  to  stand  still. 

The  use  of  an  unnecessary  word  at  the  beginning  of 
a  sentence,  such  as  why,  well,  now,  etc. 

The  habit  of  allowing  uh  to  appear  at  the.  end  of  a 
word,  or  of  using  it  to  fill  a  space  when  the  speaker  is 
trying  to  think  of  something  additional  to  say. 

The  frequent  repetition  of  and  as  a  connective. 

The  continual  repetition  of  says  I  or  says  he  in  nar- 
ration. 

EXERCISE. 

Use  one  or  more  of  the  following  subjects  for  Oral  Narration. 
The  list  may  be  enlarged  at  will. 

A  Visit  to  a  Bench  Show. 

A  Week  of  Farm  Life. 

A  Week  in  the  City. 

What  My  Canary  Knows. 

The  Life  Story  of  My  Dog. 

A  Visit  to  the  Woods  in  Winter. 

Our  Nutting  Expedition. 

Naming  the  Trees  on  Our  Street. 

A  Visit  to  the  Fire  Engine  Station. 


16  THE  ART  OF  COMPOSITION. 

Description.  —  We  can  describe  accurately  only  those 
things  which  we  know  thoroughly. 

EXERCISE. 

Among  the  following  subjects   select  one  about  which  you  have 
knowledge  at  first  hand. 

A  Tree. 

Give  its  location,  size,  appearance,  species,  form  of  leaves,  and 
character  of  fruit. 

My  Pet  Kitten. 

Make  the  description  at  first  general ;  then  make  it  more  mi- 
nute, —  teeth,  tongue,  manner  of  drinking,  feet,  number  of  toes, 
claws,  favorite  food,  habits.     Enliven  description  with  anecdote. 

The  Mother  Hen  and  Her  Chickens. 
A  Lake.  A  Hill. 

A  Stream.  A  Mountain. 

A  Foot-path.  A  Mountain  Range. 

A  City  Street.  The  Prairie. 

A  Country  Road.  The  Desert. 

The  Mountain  in  Rain  —  in  Sunshine. 

The  Clouds  at  Sunrise  —  at  Sunset  —  of  a  Bright  Day — of 
a  Dull  Day. 

Explanation.  — The  essential  quality  of  an  explanation 
is  that  it  really  explains.  It  must  be  clear  or  it  is 
worthless.  In  passing  from  one  point  to  another  in  an 
explanation,  we  sometimes  fail  to  indicate  just  where 
the  new  step  in  the  process  begins.  A  single  word  or 
phrase,  as  then,  because,  moreover,  at  this  point,  will  often 
give  the  necessary  clew. 


EXPRESSION    OF  PERSONAL    OPINION.  17 

EXERCISE. 

Explain  one  of  the  following  : — 

How  I  read  a  Newspaper. 

What  interests  me  most — what  I  read  carefully — what  I  omit. 

The  Way  I  study  my  Latin  Lesson. 
What  I  do  first — next — last. 

How  a  Street  is  paved. 

Give  the  different  steps  in  the  process. 

How  a  Game  of  Base-ball  is  played. 
To  be  told  by  one  of  the  players. 

The  Making  of  Maple  Sugar. 

This  should  be  told  by  one  who  has  taken  part  in  the  process. 

How  to  have  a  Good  Garden. 

By  one  who  has  worked  in  his  own  garden. 

Expression  of  Personal  Opinion.  —  If  we  desire  our 
opinions  to  have  weight  with  others,  we  must  give  some 
basis  for  them  stronger  than  "because." 

The  following  subjects  call  for  an  expression  of 
personal  opinion  which  should  be  based  upon  sound 
reasons. 

Why  I  wish  to  go  to  College. 

Three  Good  Reasons  for  studying  Algebra. 

The  Study  of  Mathematics  compared  with  the  Study  of 

History. 
Why  we  believe  that  Washington  was  a  Greater  Man  than 

Napoleon. 
Why  City  Life  is  preferable  to  Country  Life. 
Why  a  Republic  is  a  Better  Form  of  Government  than  a 

Monarchy. 


18  THE  ART  OF  COMPOSITION. 

The  Four  Literary  Forms  of  Language.  —  If  you  ob- 
serve what  you  have  written  upon  the  first  group  of 
subjects  suggested  in  this  chapter,  you  will  see  that  you 
have  related  events  in  sequence  ;  that  is,  you  have  used 
Narration. 

If  you  have  endeavored  to  make  a  picture  of  some- 
thing in  words  so  that  others  can  see  it  as  you  saw  it, 
you  have  used  Description. 

When  you  carefully  explained  something, — for  ex- 
ample, how  a  game  should  be  played,  —  you  used  Ex- 
position. 

When  you  attempted  to  bring  some  one  else  to  your 
way  of  thinking,  you  used  Argumentation. 

You  see,  then,  that  naturally  and  perhaps  quite  un- 
consciously you  have  used  the  four  great  literary  forms 
of  language,  —  Narration,  Description,  Exposition,  and 
Argumentation.  Hence,  it  is  clear  that  these  divisions 
are  not  arbitrary  or  artificial,  but  natural.  You  will 
also  see  that  while  one  kind  of  writing  predominated 
in  a  given  exercise,  other  kinds  were  used  more  or  less; 
in  your  narratives  you  often  used  descriptions,  and  in 
your  descriptions  you  frequently  introduced  a  thread 
of  narration.  This  is  the  ordinary  and  natural  way  of 
writing. 

The  art  of  composition  in  simple  form  is  well  set 
forth  by  the  great  Russian  novelist,  Tolstoy,  as  fol- 
lows :  — 

"  A  boy  having  experienced,  let  us  say,  fear  on  encounter- 
ing a  wolf,  relates  that  encounter ;  and  in  order  to  evoke 
in  others  the  feeling  that  he  has  experienced,  describes  him- 
self, his  condition  before  the  encounter,  the  surroundings, 
the  wood,  his  own    light-heartedness,  and  then  the   wolf's 


LITERARY  FORMS   OF  LANGUAGE.  19 

appearance ;  its  movements,  the  distance  between  him  and 
the  wolf,  etc.  All  this,  if  only  the  boy,  when  telling  the 
story,  again  experiences  the  feelings  he  had  lived  through, 
and  infects  the  hearers  and  compels  them  to  feel  what  the 
narrator  had  experienced,  is  art. 

"  Even  if  the  boy  had  not  seen  a  wolf,  but  had  frequently 
been  afraid  of  one,  and  if,  wishing  to  evoke  in  others  the 
fear  he  had  felt,  he  invented  an  encounter  with  a  wolf,  and 
recounted  it  so  as  to  make  his  hearers  share  the  feelings  he 
experienced  when  he  feared  the  wolf,  that  also  would  be 
art." 


CHAPTER   III. 

NAKKATION. 

THE  SCOPE  OF  NARRATION  —  THREE  DISTINCT  ELE- 
MENTS IN  NARRATION  —  SIMPLE  FORMS  OF  NARRA- 
TION—  THE  ANECDOTE  —  NARRATION  AS  A  LITERARY 
FORM  —  HOW   TO   WRITE   A   SHORT   NARRATIVE. 

Definition.  —  Narration  presents  in  language  succes- 
sive events.  It  has  little  to  do  with  objects  at  rest  ; 
it  deals  rather  with  scenes  constantly  shifting.  Action 
and  progress  belong  distinctively  to  narration ;  and  for 
this  reason  it  is  the  most  interesting  kind  of  composi- 
tion. It  attracts  readers  of  high  and  of  low  degree.  All 
the  world  loves  a  story. 

Appropriate  Language.  —  The  special  value  to  narra- 
tion of  appropriate  language  cannot  be  overestimated. 
For  recounting  events  effectively,  no  art  is  superior  to 
the  art  of  using  words.  The  painter  on  his  canvas  can 
tell  a  story  only  in  parts  ;  for  developing  it  fully,  well- 
chosen  words  are  necessary.  A  good  story-teller  can 
in  five  minutes  suggest  the  successive  happenings  of 
twenty  years ;  he  can  make  the  past  live  again ;  before 
you  are  aware  of  it,  he  can  transport  you  away  from  this 
workaday  world,  to  the  land  of  beauty  and  romance. 

The  Scope  of  Narration.  —  The  scope  of  narration  is 
wide,  ranging  from  simple  accounts  of  every-day  expe- 

20 


ELEMENTS   OF  NARRATION.  21 

riences  to  the  elevated  literary  forms  of  epic  and  dra- 
matic poetry.  As  a  literary  form,  it  touches  actual  life 
more  persistently  than  any  other  kind  of  composition. 

Three  Distinct  Elements.  —  Widely  as  they  may  differ 
in  dignity  of  tone,  all  good  narratives  are  marked  by 
three  common  points  of  likeness ;  these  common  points, 
or  elements,  are  the  action,  the  actors,  and  the  setting ; 
the  setting  includes  the  conditions  of  time,  place,  and 
circumstances  of  the  story.  Ordinarily,  the  setting 
and  the  actors  are  outlined  before  the  action  begins. 
As  the  narrative  proceeds,  occasional  allusions  empha- 
size the  time  and  the  place,  and  the  actors  stand  out 
more  clearly  as  they  have  more  to  do  and  to  say. 

The  Action.  —  The  most  important  of  these  three  ele- 
ments is  the  action,  or  plot.  This  includes  events  only. 
Although  the  number  of  events  may  be  limited,  still 
there  should  be  a  centre  of  interest  in  the  chain  of  in- 
cidents, —  the  point  of  the  story  that  makes  the  whole 
worth  telling.  If  you  notice  the  way  a  little  girl  relates 
to  a  playmate  a  story  of  her  own  invention,  you  will  be 
impressed  with  the  fact  that  she  is  not  skilful  in  pick- 
ing out  one  central  point  of  interest  to  which  subordi- 
nate incidents  lead.  To  her  untrained  mind,  a  story  is 
simply  a  string  of  adventures  equally  important.  She 
can  stop  her  story  whenever  she  gets  tired,  and  she  will 
be  as  near  the  end  at  one  moment  as  at  another,  unless 
all  the  actors  are  killed.  But  an  artistic  story-teller, 
even  in  relating  a  simple  incident  of  personal  adven- 
ture, will  group  the  successive  events  according  to  their 
relation  to  the  chief  point  of  interest.  The  first  group 
will  include  the  events  that  lead  up  to  the  climax  ;  the 


22  N AERATION. 

second  will  include  all  that  belong  to  the  highest  point 
of  interest ;  and  the  third  group  of  events  will  include 
the  result,  conclusion,  or  explanation  of  the  story. 
Naturally,  these  three  groups  will  be  placed  in  the  or- 
der of  sequence ;  when  that  order  is  determined,  all  de- 
tails arrange  themselves  under  the  headings  to  which 
they  respectively  belong. 

The  Actors.  —  Next  in  importance  to  the  chain  of  in- 
cidents that  makes  the  story  possible  is  the  kind  of 
persons  that  bring  about  the  action.  Their  character 
can  be  revealed  in  a  variety  of  ways,  principally  by 
what  they  do  and  by  the  way  in  which  they  talk.  The 
story-writer  who  can  invent  brilliant  conversation  may 
add  much  life  and  interest  to  his  narrative. 

The  Setting.  —  Last  in  relative  importance,  so  far  as 
making  the  story  move,  is  the  setting.  Artistically, 
however,  the  appropriate  use  of  words  in  describing 
the  place,  time,  and  circumstances  at  the  outset  adds 
greatly  to  the  effect  of  the  story.  Every  good  narra- 
tive calls  for  a  certain  amount  of  description  that  helps 
to  anchor  the  story  somewhere.  Thus  is  furnished 
a  background  for  the  scenes  of  action. 

EXERCISE. 

In  the  following  selection,  pick  out  the  suggestions  of  setting, 
actors,  and  beginning  of  action.  Distinguish  carefully  time, 
place,  and  circumstances  in  the  setting. 

I. 

Day  set  on  Norham's  castled  steep, 
And  Tweed's  fair  river,  broad  and  deep, 
And  Cheviot's  mountains  lone  : 


ELEMENTS   OF  NARRATION.  23 

The  battled  towers,  the  donjon  keep, 
The  loophole  grates,  where  captives  weep, 
The  flanking  walls  that  round  it  sweep, 

In  yellow  lustre  shone. 
The  warriors  on  the  turrets  high, 
Moving  athwart  the  evening  sky, 

Seemed  forms  of  giant  height; 
Their  armor,  as  it  caught  the  rays, 
Flashed  back  again  the  western  blaze, 

In  lines  of  dazzling  light. 


ii. 

Saint  George's  banner,  broad  and  gay, 
Now  faded,  as  the  fading  ray 

Less  bright  and  less,  was  flung ; 
The  evening  gale  had  scarce  the  power 
To  wave  it  on  the  donjon  tower 

So  heavily  it  hung. 
The  scouts  had  parted  on  their  search, 

The  castle  gates  were  barred  ; 
Above  the  gloomy  portal  arch, 
Timing  his  footsteps  to  a  march, 

The  warder  kept  his  guard, 
Low  humming  as  he  paced  along 
Some  ancient  Border  gathering  song. 


in. 

A  distant  trampling  sound  he  hears  ; 
He  looks  abroad,  and  soon  appears, 
O'er  Horn-cliff  hill  a  plump  of  spears 

Beneath  a  pennon  gay ; 
A  horseman,  darting  from  the  crowd, 


24  NARRATION. 

Like  lightning  from  a  summer  cloud, 
Spurs  on  his  mettled  courser  proud, 
Before  the  dark  array. 

—  Scott  :  Marmion,  Canto  i. 

Write  in  prose,  with  no  more  than  fifty  words,  the  setting  of 
the  quotation  from  Marmion. 

Read  the  first  three  chapters  of  Ivanhoe  and  notice  the  way  in 
which  Scott  begins  his  story. 

Simple  Forms  of  Narration.  —  The  simplest  illustra- 
tions of  narration  are  furnished  in  ordinary  conversa- 
tion. Even  the  person  that  can  give  a  clear  account  of 
a  foot-ball  game  must  consciously  or  unconsciously  ob- 
serve the  laws  laid  down  for  good  story-telling  ;  so 
must  the  person  who  relates  a  simple  anecdote,  if  he 
wishes  his  listeners  to  await  the  issue  with  interest.  In 
the  very  common  diversion  of  familiar  letter-writing, 
likewise,  repeated  opportunity  is  supplied  for  learning 
how  to  relate  personal  experiences  in  such  a  way  that 
our  friends  will  be  entertained. 

In  conversation,  it  often  happens  that  a  person  is  un- 
interesting because  he  does  not  know  how  to  relate  a 
simple  incident  ;  in  other  words,  he  pays  no  attention 
to  the  subordination  of  ideas.  In  the  case  of  story-tell- 
ing, this  principle  is  most  important.  It  means  that 
the  emphasis  must  be  placed  on  the  main  point  only  and 
that  all  details  should  lead  up  to  the  climax.  Only  a 
skilful  story-teller  may  venture  to  linger  on  unimpor- 
tant points.  If  a  person  wishes  to  talk  well  and  to  write 
well,  he  must  begin  by  trying  to  relate  an  ordinary 
experience  with  simplicity,  directness,  and  force. 

Note  the  effect  of  the  following  selection.     It  is  taken 


ANECDOTE.  25 

from  a  story  which  has  as  one  of  its  characters  a  tedious 
talker,  who  tries  to  say  everything  at  once,  violating 
unity  of  time,  of  place,  of  subject,  —  one  and  all. 

I  was  reading  it  to  Mrs.  Cole  and  since  she  went  away,  I 
was  reading  it  again  to  my  mother,  for  it  is  such  a  pleasure 
to  her  —  a  letter  from  Jane  —  that  she  can  never  hear  it 
often  enough ;  so  I  knew  it  could  not  be  far  off,  and  here  it 
is,  only  just  under  my  huswife,  —  and  since  you  are  so 
kind  as  to  wish  to  hear  what  she  says  ;  but  first  of  all,  I 
really  must  in  justice  to  Jane  apologize  for  her  writing  so 
short  a  letter,  only  two  pages,  you  see,  hardly  two,  and  in 
general  she  fills  the  whole  paper  and  crosses  half. 

—  Jane  Austen  :  Emma,  Chapter  xix. 

Anecdote.  — An  anecdote  is  a  short  narrative  of  a 
particular  event,  either  standing  alone  or  embedded  in 
other  literary  forms.  When  alone,  it  is  used  principally 
to  amuse  and  entertain ;  when  it  occurs  as  part  of 
another  composition,  it  is  introduced  to  entertain,  to 
illustrate,  to  point  a  moral,  or  to  strengthen  an  argu- 
ment. 

EXERCISE. 

What  is  the  purpose  of  the  anecdote  about  swimming  the 
Tiber,  told  by  Cassius  in  Act  i,  Scene  2,  of  Julius  Ccesar  f 

What  is  the  purpose  of  the  incident  related  by  Father  Leblanc 
in  Evangeline  t 

Write  or  relate  orally  one  or  more  incidents  that  occurred  at  a 
recent  picnic — base-ball  game  —  foot-ball  game  —  skating  party  — 
fire. 

Write  or  relate  orally  a  recent  event  of  national  importance, 
using  information  obtained  from  the  daily  papers. 

Write  or  relate  orally  an  anecdote  which  you  have  read,  or, 
better  still,  one  from  your  own  experience. 


26  NARRATION. 

Talk  for  two  or  three  minutes  on  one  of  the  following  inci- 
dents from  Ivanhoe.  See  to  it  that  you  have  a  good  beginning,  an 
orderly  sequence  of  events,  and  a  dignified  conclusion. 

An  Evening  at  Cedric's  Home. 

The  Persecution  of  Isaac  (Chapter  xxi). 

Kowena's  Call  from  the  Palmer. 

A  Test  of  Skill  in  Archery. 

A  Combat :  Norman  Prince  against  Saxon  Franklin. 

A  Royal  Banquet. 

A  Tournament  in  the  Holy  Land. 

An  Evening  with  a  Hermit. 

Tell  the  story  of  the  Merchant  of  Venice,  centering  the  inci- 
dents around  Bassanio;  tell  the  story  a  second  time,  centering  the 
incidents  around  Portia ;  a  third  time,  centering  the  incidents 
around  Shylock.  How  does  each  plan  vary  the  story?  Which 
way  do  you  like  best  ?     Why  ? 

PRACTICAL  HINTS  FOE  SUCCESS  IN  NARRATION. 

Remember  that  your  own  experiences  furnish  better  sub- 
jects than  incidents  selected  from  your  reading. 

Introduce  anecdotes  into  your  conversation. 

Seek  for  the  freedom  that  comes  only  by  continual  prac- 
tice. Write  incidents  frequently,  to  see  how  well  you  can 
succeed,  and  note  how  each  may  be  improved;  afterward 
relate  the  same  incidents  orally. 

Narration  as  a  Literary  Form.  —  In  prose,  narration 
includes  letters,  newspaper  reports,  stories,  biographies, 
histories,  and  novels ;  in  poetry  it  includes  ballads, 
metrical  romances,  epics,  and  dramas.  The  actors  may 
be  gods  and  heroes,  as  in  epics  and  in  sacred  writings ; 
ordinary  persons,  as  in  fiction  and  history ;  or  animals, 
as  in  ^Esop's  Fables  and  Kipling's  Jungle  Stories.  In 
actual  practice,  the  indication  of  time  and  place  varies 


NARRATION  AS  A   LITERARY  FORM.  27 

from  the  merest  suggestion  in  anecdotes,  to  the  careful 
and  complete  elaboration  necessary  for  the  understand- 
ing of  a  history  or  a  novel. 

Dominant  Tone;  Central  Motive. — A  narrative  may 
have  a  dominant  tone  which  results  from  the  mental 
point  of  view  taken  by  the  narrator.  For  instance, 
Mark  Twain's  experiences  as  he  relates  them  are  humor- 
ous ;  George  Eliot's  stories  are  thoughtful  and  serious. 
A  narrative  may  also  have  a  central  motive  ;  that  is,  a 
purpose  for  which  the  whole  is  written. 

EXERCISE. 

State  what  you  think  would  be  necessary  as  the  setting  for  an 
account  of  the  battle  of  Gettysburg ;  for  a  report  of  a  political 
meeting ;  for  a  Christmas  story. 

Give,  for  one  of  the  following  poems,  the  actors,  a  list  of  the 
principal  events,  and  the  conditions  of  time,  place,  and  circum- 
stances under  which  the  events  occurred.  Determine  whether  or 
not  there  is  a  dominant  tone,  —  a  central  motive. 

Rime  of  the  Ancient  Mariner.  —  Coleridge. 
Courtship  of  Miles  Standish.  —  Longfellow. 
Marmion.  —  Scott. 

Ulysses  among  the  Phceacians.  —  Odyssey,  Bryant's  Trans- 
lation. 
Tlie  Ballad  of  Chevy  Chase.  —  Old  English  Ballad. 
The  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal.  —  Lowell. 

Examine  one  of  the  following  prose  narratives  with  regard  to 
the  same  points :  — 

Robinson  Crusoe.  —  Defoe. 

Pilgrim's  Progress.  —  Bunyan. 

TJie  Legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow.  —  Irving. 


28      •«  NARRATION. 

Treasure  Island.  —  Stevenson. 
Uncle  Tom's  Cabin. —  Stowe. 
Alice  in  Wonderland.  —  Carroll. 

Test  a  number  of  news  narratives  from  daily  papers,  to  deter- 
mine how  far  the  material  has  been  presented  in  a  sensational 
manner  ;  in  an  orderly,  truthful  manner;  in  a  confused  manner. 

Test  the  following  stories  by  the  standard  of  clearness  and 
unity.  Is  the  action  slow  or  rapid?  What  is  the  proportion  of 
narration,  description,  character-sketching?  Can  any  incident  be 
omitted  without  loss  to  the  whole  ?  Are  incidents  arranged  to 
produce  a  climax  ?  If  so,  where  is  the  climax  ?  How  do  you 
know  the  time  and  place  ?     Is  expectation  fostered  ?     If  so,  how  ? 

The  Great  Stone  Face.  —  Hawthorne. 

TJie  Cricket  on  the  Hearth.  —  Dickens. 

The  Man  without  a  Country.  —  Hale. 

The  Lady  or  the  Tiger  f  —  Stockton. 

Rip  Van  Winkle.  —  Irving. 

The  House  of  Usher.  —  Poe. 

Trail  of  the  Sand-Hill  Stag.  —  Thoinpson-Seton. 

The  King  of  the  Golden  River.  —  Ruskin. 

Jackanapes.  —  Ewing. 

TJie  Vision  of  Mirza.  —  Addison. 

Van  Bibber  and  the  Swan-Boats.  —  Davis. 

Wee  Willie  Winkie.  —  Kipling. 

How  to  write  a  Short  Narrative.  —  In  a  short  narrative 
the  emphasis  should  be  upon  the  action.  The  actors 
and  the  setting  should  first  be  briefly  but  clearly  dis- 
posed of,  and  the  action  should  proceed  at  once.  The 
events  should  be  recounted  in  a  simple,  direct  manner ; 
it  is  best  to  omit  all  incidents  that  have  only  a  loose 
connection  with  the  point  of  the  story.  Work  toward 
a  climax ;  and  in  the  main,  follow  the  order  of  time. 


A   SHORT  NARRATIVE.  29 

EXERCISE. 

Write  a  short  sketch  of  the  "Boston  Tea  Party"  from  the  Eng- 
lish point  of  view. 

Write  a  story  about  a  modern  Sir  Launfal. 

Relate  the  experiences  of  a  caged  bird,  with  the  object  of  pro- 
ducing sympathy  for  the  bird. 

Give  an  impartial  account  of  a  class  debate. 

Give  an  impartial  account  of  a  game  between  two  rival  foot-ball 
teams. 

Describe  the  progress  of  a  ship  in  a  fierce  storm,  emphasizing 
the  action  of  the  sailors. 

Summarize  in  narrative :  scenes  from  Ivanhoe  (two  hundred 
words)  —  from  Merchant  of  Venice  —  from  Julius  Ccesar. 

Write  a  letter  to  a  friend,  recounting,  in  an  amusing  vein,  the 
incidents  of  a  day  at  school. 

Keep  a  journal  for  a  week. 

SUGGESTIONS  TO  THE  WHITER. 

In  writing  a  narrative,  decide  first  what  your  aim  is  in 
composing  it,  and  emphasize  that  aim.  Make  the  various 
parts  of  the  narrative  conform  to  your  aim. 

Decide  how  long  your  narrative  is  to  be ;  then  keep  the 
parts  well  proportioned.  If  it  is  to  be  a  narrative  of  one 
thousand  words,  do  not  give  three  hundred  words  to  your 
introduction. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

WORDS. 

DEFINITION  —  SYNONYMS  AND  ANTONYMS  —  WHAT 
WORDS  DENOTE  —  WHAT  THEY  CONNOTE — GENERAL 
TERMS — SPECIFIC  TERMS  —  LITERARY,  COLLOQUIAL, 
AND  ILLITERATE  ENGLISH — SLANG  EXPRESSIONS  — 
PERSONAL  VOCABULARY  —  VALUE  OF  QUOTATION 
—  RHETORICAL  FIGURES:  SIMILE,  METAPHOR,  ME- 
TONYMY,   SYNECDOCHE. 

Definition  of  Words.  —  In  order  to  use  words  accu- 
rately, it  is  necessary  to  know  exactly  what  they  mean. 
A  perfect  definition  separates  the  term  defined  from 
every  other,  and  implies  knowledge,  not  only  of  the 
object  under  consideration,  but  of  every  other  that 
might  be  mistaken  for  it.  Obviously,  youth  possesses 
no  such  knowledge,  and  consequently  class-room  defini- 
tions are  more  or  less  inadequate. 

The  habit  of  mind,  however,  which  grasps  salient 
qualities,  notes  differences,  observes  similarities,  and  ex- 
presses all  these  clearly,  is  developed  by  frequent  efforts 
to  give  exact  definitions,  even  if  these  efforts  are  not 
wholly  successful. 

EXERCISE. 

Give  the  meaning  of  the  italicized  words  in  the  following 
quotations  :  — 

This  is  the  forest  primeval.     The  murmuring  pines  and  the 
hemlocks, 

30 


DEFINITION   OF   WORDS.  31 

Bearded  with  moss,  and  in  garments  green,  indistinct  in  the 

twilight, 

Stand  like  Druids  of  eld,  with  voices  sad  and  prophetic, 

Stand   like   harpers  hoar,  with  beards   that  rest  on  their 

bosoms. 

—  Longfellow:  Evangeline. 

His  words  were  shed  softer  than  leaves  from  the  pine, 
And  they  fell  on  Sir  Launfal  as  snows  on  the  brine, 
That  mingle  their  softness  and  quiet  in  one 
With  the  shaggy  unrest  they  float  down  upon. 

—  Lowell:   The  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal. 

The  curfew  tolls  the  knell  of  parting  day ; 

The  lowing  herd  winds  slowly  o'er  the  lea, 
The  ploughman  homeward  plods  his  weary  way, 

And  leaves  the  world  to  darkness  and  to  me. 

—  Gray  :  Elegy  written  in  a  Country  Churchyard. 

It  has  been  the  lot  of  the  unfortunate  aborigines  of  Amer- 
ica, in  the  early  periods  of  colonization,  to  be  doubly  wronged 
by  the  white  men.  They  have  been  dispossessed  of  their 
hereditary  possessions  by  mercenary  and  frequently  ivanton 
warfare ;  and  their  characters  have  been  traduced  by  bigoted 
and  interested  writers.  —  Irving  :  Traits  of  Indian  Character. 

SUGGESTIONS   FOR  INDIVIDUAL  STUDY. 

When  reading'  for  entertainment  or  when  studying,  fre- 
quently test  your  knowledge  to  see  if  you  can  define  partic- 
ular words.  The  very  effort  to  express  it  will  often  enable 
you  to  grasp  the  correct  meaning. 

When  attempting  to  define  a  word,  use  clear-cut  expres- 
sions. Do  not  say  even  to  yourself,  "Primeval  is  where" 
or  "  Murmur  is  when." 

Do  not  consult  a  dictionary  for  a  definition  until  you  have 
exhausted  your  own  resources.    For  authoritative  definitions 


32  WORDS. 

seek   the  best  dictionary  within  reach  ;   do  not  be  content 
with  a  definition  consisting  of  a  single  word. 

Synonyms  and  Antonyms.  —  The  English  language, 
made  up  as  it  is  from  both  Saxon  and  Latin  roots, 
abounds  in  words  which  coincide  nearly  with  other 
words  in  meaning.  Such  wrords  are  called  synonyms. 
Because  of  these  synonyms  great  exactness  of  expres- 
sion is  possible,  and  much  care  and  thought  are  neces- 
sary to  select  the  right  word  to  convey  just  the  meaning 
that  is  intended. 

EXERCISE. 

Find  other  words  closely  allied  in  meaning  to  those  in  the  fol- 
lowing list :  — 


beautiful 

liberty 

walked 

happy 

business 

remove 

unworthy 

fatigued 

result 

Substitute  the  synonyms  of  "  beautiful "  for  that  word  in  a 
selected  sentence,  and  note  the  result  in  each  case. 

Try  a  similar  experiment  with  the  other  words  in  the  list. 

Find  groups  of  synonyms  in  any  good  dictionary,  and  note  the 
differences  of  meaning  in  the  words  of  each  group. 

Antonym  means  a  word  directly  opposed  to  another 
in  meaning;  it  is  the  opposite  of  synonym.  Thus 
death  is  the  antonym  of  life;  other  examples  are  hot, 
cold;  strong,  weak;  sincere,  deceitfid ;  attack,  defend; 
friend,  enemy. 

EXERCISE. 

Give  the  opposites  of  the  following  words  :  — 

firm  urban  citizen  wilful 

wise  oppress  innocent  early 

true  adorn  bright  sweet 


GENERAL   AND   SPECIFIC   TERMS. 


33 


Find  antonyms  for  the  italicized  words  in  the  following  selec- 
tion :  — 

Oh,  young  Lochinvar  is  come  out  of  the  tvest ! 

Through  all  the  wide  border  his  steed  was  the  best  ; 

And,  save  his  good  broadsword,  he  weapons  had  none  ; 

He  rode  all  unarmed,  and  he  rode  all  alone. 

So  faithful  in  love,  and  so  dauntless  in  war, 

There  never  was  knight  like  the  young  Lochinvar  ! 

—  Scott  :  Marmion. 

The  rhetorical  value  of  synonyms  lies  in  the  oppor- 
tunity they  give  us  to  express  similarities  without 
unpleasant  repetition  of  words.  Antonyms  enable  us 
to  emphasize  our  meaning  through  contrasts. 

What  Words  Denote  and  What  they  Connote.  —  A  word 
denotes  that  which  is  expressed  by  its  definition  ;  it 
connotes  what  it  suggests.  The  general  principle  is 
that  the  more  a  word  or  phrase  can  be  made  to  suggest 
or  imply,  the  greater  is  its  value.  At  the  same  time, 
it  must  express  definitely  just  what  the  speaker  or 
writer  wishes  to  say. 

EXERCISE. 

Let  each  member  of   the  class  write  what  the  following  words 


suggest  or  connote  to  him. 

winter 

bicycle 

Lincoln 

flag 

bluebird 

student-lamp 

Caesar 

snow 

forest 

fishing-rod 

Victoria 

skates 

ocean 

Sunday-school 

Bunker  Hill 

canoe 

General  Terms  and  Specific  Terms.  —  A  general  term 
or  word  is  one  which  includes  a  large  number  of  ideas. 
Animal,  plant,  tree,  are  general  terms,  for  they  may  be 


34  WORDS. 

applied  to  a  great  number  of  very  different  individuals, 
and  they  do  not  indicate  which  individual  is  meant. 

A  specific  term  is  one  that  denotes  a  single  idea  or  a 
single  group  of  ideas ;  it  calls  up  in  the  mind  a  definite 
image.  The  terms,  general  and  specific,  are  merely 
relative  ;  words  which  are  specific  from  one  point  of 
view  may  be  general  from  another.  Considering  ani- 
mal as  a  general  term,  dog  would  be  a  specific  term; 
if  we  consider  dog  as  a  general  term,  collie  would  be  a 
specific  term  ;  if  we  consider  collie  as  a  general  term, 
Bob,  Son  of  Battle,  would  be  a  specific  term.  Obviously, 
force  and  directness  of  expression  are  attained  by  the 
use  of  specific  rather  than  of  general  terms. 

The  following  selections  emphasize  the  essential 
difference  between  the  two. 

In  proportion  as  the  manners,  customs,  and  amusements 
of  a  nation  are  cruel  and  barbarous,  the  regulations  of  their 
penal  code  will  be  severe.  —  Herbert  Spencer. 

Here  manners,  customs,  amusements,  barbarous,  and 
regulations  are  general  terms,  and  the  passage  conveys 
only  a  general  idea  to  the  mind. 

Whenever  their  kettle-drums  were  heard,  the  peasant 
threw  his  bag  of  rice  upon  his  shoulder,  hid  his  small  sav- 
ings in  his  girdle,  and  fled  with  his  wife  and  children  to  the 
mountains  or  the  jungles — to  the  milder  neighborhood  of 
the  hyena  and  the  tiger.  —  Macaulay  :  "  Invasion  of  the  Mahrat- 
tas,"  in  the  Essay  upon  Malcolm's  Life  of  Clive. 

Here  specific  terms  leave  no  doubt  as  to  the  meaning, 
and  enable  the  reader  to  construct  a  picture,  fairly  star- 
tling in  its  vividness. 


COLLOQUIAL  AND  ILLITERATE  ENGLISH.         35 

EXERCISE. 

Considering  each  word  in  this  list  a  general  term,  give  several 
particular  terms  under  each  :  — 

animal  game  nation  building 

distance  rose  laborer  tree 

vehicle  flower  ocean  ship 

Considering  each  word  in  the  following  list  a  specific  term,  give 
the  corresponding  general  term  :  — 

gold  horse  foot-ball  trout 

apple  lily  carpenter  robin 

Give  both  general  and  specific  terms  for  each  word  in  the  fol- 
lowing list :  — 

star  knife  newspaper  pencil 

house         poem  miner  maple 

Although  specific  terms  are  more  forcible  than  gen- 
eral ones,  nevertheless,  in  order  to  fit  our  words  definitely 
and  exactly  to  the  thought  that  we  wish  to  express, 
we  must  ask  ourselves,  "  Does  the  word  we  have  used 
express  precisely  what  we  have  in  mind  ?  "  If  we  say 
fish  when  we  mean  trout,  or  if  we  say  robins  when  we 
mean  several  species  of  birds,  we  fail  in  precision; 
although  in  one  case  we  have  used  a  general  term  and  in 
the  other  a  specific  term.  Which  term  is  better  depends 
wholly  upon  what  we  wish  to  express. 

Literary,  Colloquial,  and  Illiterate  English.  —  Our 
English  speech  may  be  divided  into  three  groups :  Lit- 
erary English,  the  words  and  constructions  used  in  rep- 
utable literature  ;  Colloquial  English,  the  forms  that 
educated   people   use    in    conversation ;    and   Illiterate 


36  WORDS. 

English,  many  words  and  expressions  used  by  unedu- 
cated persons  upon  whom  literary  standards  have  little 
influence.  Educated  people  often  use  illiterate  Eng- 
lish through  carelessness,  or  as  the  result  of  early 
associations. 

Slang  Expressions.  —  Slang  is  inelegant  and  unauthor- 
ized popular  language,  consisting  of  expressions  of 
low  or  illiterate  origin,  or  of  good  words  used  gro- 
tesquely. Unauthorized  abbreviation  of  words  may  be 
slang.  Examples  of  this  variety  are  the  words  exams 
and  gyms  of  college  students.  Slang  appears  in  both 
colloquial  and  illiterate  English. 

If  a  slang  word  is  clearly  defined,  and  if  it  possesses 
a  shade  of  meaning  possessed  by  no  other  word  in  the 
language,  gradually  the  slime  of  the  gutter  may  be 
washed  from  it,  and  it  may  be  admitted  to  respecta- 
bility. If,  however,  a  slang  word  has  no  such  qualifi- 
cations, it  remains  in  vulgar  English  and  passes  out  of 
use  altogether. 

As  illustrating  the  fate  of  slang  words  we  may  con- 
sider the  standing  of  chestnut,  dude,  swipe,  boom,  bull- 
doze, graft,  and  boycott.  Chestnut  has  reverted  to  its 
original  meaning  and  almost  entirely  dropped  out  of 
use  as  a  slang  term  ;  dude  and  swipe  still  appear  in  vul- 
gar English;  boom  and  bulldoze  have  become  colloquial, 
bulldoze  having  also  been  adopted  as  a  technical  term 
in  mining  by  the  blasting  or  quarrying  process ;  graft 
and  boycott  appear  in  literary  English. 

Usage.  —  Usage  is  the  final  test  of  the  standing  of  a 
word  or  an  expression,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that 
only  the  usage  of  educated  and   cultivated  people  is 


PERSONAL    VOCABULARY.  37 

accepted  as  authority.     Dictionaries  do  not  determine  ; 
they  simply  record  accepted  usage. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  AVOIDANCE  OF  ILLITERATE  HABITS. 

In  your  conversation  do  not  descend  to  low  standards. 

Avoid  the  illiterate  expressions  heard  on  the  street  and 
on  the  playground. 

Remember  that  you  cannot  habitually  use  rude,  careless, 
or  slang  expressions  and  then  use  well-bred,  correct  Eng- 
lish when  you  wish.     Habit  will  betray  and  disgrace  you. 

Many  avenues  to  success  are  closed  to  the  user  of 
coarse,  gross,  and  illiterate  language,  —  to  the  "  slangy  " 
man  or.  woman.  Individuals  may  actually  unfit  them- 
selves for  positions  of  social  regard  by  their  persistency 
in  errors  of  speaking  and  writing.  The  Outlook,  writ- 
ing upon  this  topic,  states  the  case  fairly  :  — 

As  a  matter  of  stern  fact,  the  world  in  the  long  tale  de- 
mands clean,  pure,  mother  tongue  of  its  citizens.  To  speak 
that  tongue  impurely  is  as  positive  a  handicap  as  a  limp  in 
the  gait.  Force  of  will,  of  character,  may  lift  a  man  (limp 
and  all)  where  he  wishes  to  be  in  the  race  ;  but  the  output 
of  force  must  be  great  to  overcome  the  handicap  —  greater 
than  the  average  man  commands.  One  of  the  undeniable 
shibboleths  of  life  is  good  English,  and  the  man  who  has 
that  password  may  often  slip  in  where  his  brother,  worthier 
perhaps,  it  may  even  be  better  educated,  has  yet  to  climb 
the  gate  which  was  shut  in  his  face  because  he  chanced  to 
ask,  "  Is  my  fortune  to  home  ?  "  Labor  then  for  the  obvious 
advantage,  you  who  have  it  not.  Never  despair.  Absorb 
good  English.  Listen  for  it ;  and  listen  for  poor  English ; 
and  mentally  mark  each  spoken  phrase  as  good,  bad,  or 
indifferent. 


215180 


38  WORDS. 

Personal  Vocabulary.  —  Our  vocabulary  is  the  total 
number  of  words  that  we  habitually  use,  and  the  en- 
largement and  improvement  of  this  is  a  matter  of  per- 
sonal effort.  We  get  along  with  a  limited  number  of 
words,  partly  because  our  ideas  are  vague  and  indefinite, 
partly  because  we  do  not  take  the  trouble  to  acquire 
more.  Our  chief  source  of  supply  is  reading ;  and  the 
selection  of  the  right  word  to  express  exactly  what  we 
mean  is  an  art  acquired  only  by  continued  effort. 

EXERCISE. 

Make  a  list  of  the  words  in  the  following  quotation  which  you 
understand,  but  rarely  if  ever  use. 

Shakespeare  knew  that  tradition  supplies  a  better  fable 
than  any  invention  can.  If  he  lost  any  credit  of  design,  he 
augmented  his  resources ;  and,  at  that  day,  our  petulant 
demand  for  originality  was  not  so  much  pressed.  There  was 
no  literature  for  the  million.  The  universal  reading,  the 
cheap  press,  were  unknown.  A  great  poet,  who  appears  in 
illiterate  times,  absorbs  into  his  sphere  all  the  light  which 
is  anywhere  radiating.  Every  intellectual  jewel,  every 
flower  of  sentiment,  it  is  his  fine  office  to  bring  to  his 
people ;  and  he  comes  to  value  his  memory  equally  with 
his  invention.  He  is  therefore  little  solicitous  whence  his 
thoughts  have  been  derived ;  whether  through  translation, 
whether  through  tradition,  whether  by  travel  in  distant 
countries,  whether  by  inspiration ;  from  whatever  source, 
they  are  equally  welcome  to  his  uncritical  audience.  Nay, 
he  borrows  very  near  home.  Other  men  say  wise  things  as 
well  as  he;  only  they  say  a  good  many  foolish  things,  and 
do  not  know  when  they  have  spoken  wisely.  He  knows  the 
sparkle  of  the  true  stone,  and  puts  it  in  high  place,  wherever 
he  finds  it.  —  Emerson  :   Shakespeare,  the  Poet. 


VALUE  OF  QUOTATION.  39 

Select  another  paragraph  of  good  English.  Make  a  list  of  the 
words  which  it  contains  that  you  rarely  if  ever  use.  Study  why 
you  do  not  use  them. 


SUGGESTIONS  FOE  ENLARGING  THE  VOCABULARY. 

Since  we  habitually  use  a  larger  number  of  words  when 
we  write  than  when  we  speak,  we  should  make  a  continual 
effort  to  bring  our  spoken  vocabulary  to  the  standard  of  our 
written  vocabulary. 

When  you  find  yourself  using  one  word  in  many  different 
meanings,  consider  if  it  is  not  because  you  are  without  a 
sufficient  number  of  words  to  express  what  you  wish  to  say. 
Find  out  first  what  you  wish  to  say  and  then  seek  the  word 
which  will  best  express  it. 

Remember  that  an  excessive  use  of  slang  is  an  open  con- 
fession of  a  limited  vocabulary". 

Seek  new  words  everywhere ;  in  your  reading,  in  the 
conversation  of  others,  in  the  dictionary. 

Stock  your  memory  with  synonyms.  Be  mentally  sensi- 
tive to  delicate  shades  of  meaning. 

Value  of  Quotation.  —  Learning  selected  passages  from 
the  works  of  our  best  authors  has  a  value  that  cannot 
easily  be  overestimated.  It  stimulates  thought  and 
feeling,  refines  and  strengthens  the  forms  of  speech. 

EXERCISE . 

Find  passages  in  literature  which  contain  the  following  words 
or  in  some  way  refer  to  them. 

sleep  snow  night  rose 

star  evening  liberty  daffodil 

For  example,  the  following  passages  contain  the  word  sleep:  — 
Now  I  lay  me  down  to  sleep.  —  Child's  Prayer. 


40  WORDS. 

0  sleep  !  it  is  a  gentle  thing, 
Beloved  from  pole  to  pole ! 
To  Mary  Queen  the  praise  be  given ! 
She  sent  the  gentle  sleep  from  heaven, 
That  slid  into  my  soul. 

—  Coleridge  :  Bime  of  the  Ancient  Mariner. 

To  die,  —  to  sleep,  — 
No  more ;  and  by  a  sleep  to  say  we  end 
The  heart-ache,  and  the  thousand  natural  shocks 
That  flesh  is  heir  to,  —  'tis  a  consummation 
Devoutly  to  be  wished. 

—  Shakespeare  :  Hamlet,  Act  in,  Scene  1. 

"While  I  am  asleep  I  have  neither  fear  nor  hope,  nor 
trouble  nor  glory.  Blessings  light  on  him  who  first  in- 
vented sleep !  —  it  covers  a  man  all  over,  body  and  mind, 
like  a  cloak ;  it  is  meat  to  the  hungry,  drink  to  the  thirsty, 
heat  to  the  cold,  and  cold  to  the  hot;  it  is  the  coin  that 
can  purchase  all  things ;  the  balance  that  makes  the  shep- 
herd equal  with  the  king,  the  fool  with  the  wise  man. 
—  Cervantes  :  Sancho  Panza  in  Don  Quixote. 

Our  birth  is  but  a  sleep  and  a  forgetting ; 

The  soul  that  rises  with  us,  our  life's  star, 
Hath  had  elsewhere  its  setting, 

And  cometh  from  afar. 
—  Wordsworth  :   Ode  on  the  Intimations  of  Immortality. 

Of  all  the  thoughts  of  God  that  are 
Borne  inward  unto  souls  afar, 
Along  the  Psalmist's  music  deep, 
Now  tell  me  if  there  any  is 
For  gift  or  grace  surpassing  this  — 
"  He  giveth  his  beloved  sleep." 

—  Elizabeth  Barrett  Browning  :   The  Sleep. 


SIMILE.  41 

Methought  I  heard  a  voice  cry,  "  Sleep  no  more  ! 
Macbeth  does  murder  sleep," — the  innocent  sleep; 
Sleep  that  knits  up  the  ravell'd  sleave  of  care, 
The  death  of  each  day's  life,  sore  labor's  bath, 
Balm  of  hurt  minds,  great  nature's  second  course, 
Chief  nourisher  in  life's  feast. 

—  Shakespeake  :  Macbeth,  Act  n,  Scene  2. 

For  liberty  see  :  — 

America.  —  S.  F.  Smith. 

L' Allegro.  —  Milton. 

Sonnet  on  Chitton.  —  Byron. 

Patrick  Henry's  Speech  before  the  Virginia  Convention. 

Webster's  Second  Speech  on  Foote's  Resolution. 

Arnold  Winkelried.  —  James  Montgomery. 

Rhetorical  Figures.  —  Rhetorical  figures  are  intentional 
variations  from  the  plain  and  ordinary  use  of  words  for 
the  purpose  of  making  what  we  say  more  effective.  The 
most  important  of  these  are  Simile  and  Metaphor,  the 
figures  of  comparison. 

Simile.  —  The  simile  is  a  comparison  definitely  ex- 
pressed between  objects  that  are  not  of  the  same  class, 
but  which  have  at  least  one  point  in  common.  The 
difference  between  a  simile  and  an  ordinary  comparison 
lies  in  the  fact  that  in  a  simile  the  objects  compared  be- 
long to  different  classes. 

The  man  rims  like  an  athlete  is  not  a  simile,  because 
an  athlete  is  a  man  ;  but  The  man  runs  like  a  deer  is  a 
simile,  because  man  is  compared  with  a  member  of 
a  class  different  from   his  own. 

As  and  like  are  the  usual  signs  of  a  simile,  but  so,  and 
just,  similar  to,  and  others  may  be  used  for  the  purpose. 


42  WORDS. 

EXERCISE. 

Point  out,  and  explain  the  similes  in  the  following  selections :  - 

But  pleasures  are  like  poppies  spread, 
You  seize  the  flower,  its  bloom  is  shed ; 
Or  like  the  snow-falls  in  the  river, 
A  moment  white  —  then  melts  for  ever ; 
Or  like  the  borealis  race, 
That  flit  ere  you  can  point  their  place ; 
Or  like  the  rainbow's  lovely  form 
Evanishing  amid  the  storm. 

—  Burns:  Tarn  0' Shanter. 

His  name  was  Gama ;  cracked  and  small  his  voice, 
But  bland  the  smile  that  like  a  wrinkling  wind 
On  glassy  water  drove  his  cheek  in  lines. 

—  Tennyson:  The  Princess. 

So  young  and  strong, 
And  lightsome  as  a  locust-leaf, 
Sir  Launfal  flashed  forth  in  his  maiden  mail 
To  seek  in  all  climes  for  the  Holy  Grail. 

—  Lowell:   The  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal. 

There's  Bryant  as  quiet,  as  cool,  and  as  dignified, 
As  a  smooth  silent  iceberg,  that  never  is  ignified. 

—  Lowell. 

Your  face,  my  thane,  is  as  a  book  where  men 
May  read  strange  matters ;  to  beguile  the  time, 
Look  like  the  time ;  bear  welcome  in  your  eye, 
Your  hand,  your  tongue ;  look  like  the  innocent  flower, 
But  be  the  serpent  under  it. 

—  Shakespeare  :  31acbeth,  Act  i,  Scene  5. 


SIMILE.  43 

Bent  like  a  laboring  oar,  that  toils  in  the  surf  of  the  ocean 

Bent,  but  not  broken,  by  age  was  the  form  of  the  notary 

public. 

—  Longfellow  :  Evangeline. 

Like  the  leaves  of  the  forest  when  summer  is  green, 
That  host  with  their  banners  at  sunset  were  seen. 

—  Byron  :   The  Destruction  of  Sennacherib. 

He  spake;  and  Rustum  answered  not,  but  hurled 

His  spear.      Down  from  the  shoulder,  down  it  came  — 

As  on  some  partridge  in  the  corn,  a  hawk, 

That  long  has  towered  in  the  airy  clouds, 

Drops  like  a  plummet.     Sohrab  saw  it  come, 

And  sprang  aside,  quick  as  a  flash. 

—  Matthew  Arnold  :  Sohrab  and  Bustum. 

Wealth  is  like  snow,  —  if  it  fall  level  to-day  it  will  be 
blown  into  drifts  to-morrow. 

On  one  occasion  a  group  of  wretched  beings  was  seen  on 
the  farther  bank  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  like  wild  animals 
driven  by  famine  to  the  borders  of  the  settler's  clear- 
ing—  Parkman:  Pioneers  of  France  in  the  New  World. 

Simile,  being  the  great  illustrative  figure,  is  especially 
adapted  to  promote  clearness  of  expression ;  it  occurs 
very  frequently  in  poetry  and  in  imaginative  prose. 

EXERCISE. 

Write  similes,  using  the  names  of  animals  that  we  take  as  types 
of  the  following  conditions  :  strength,  weakness,  poverty,  bravery, 
brusqueness,  innocence,  cold,  happiness,  sickness. 

Write  similes,  using  the  names  of  objects  that  we  take  as  the 
types  of  freedom,  of  weight,  of  uncertainty. 

Bring  into  class  similes  selected  from  Longfellow,  Lowell,  Whit- 
tier,  and  other  writers. 


44  WORDS. 

Metaphor.  —  A  metaphor  is  an  implied  comparison 
between  objects  that  are  not  of  the  same  class.  A 
simile  says  that  two  objects  are  alike  ;  a  metaphor  says 
one  object  is  another,  leaving  the  comparison  to  be  un- 
derstood. For  example  :  That  man  is  like  a  fox  in  his 
dealings  is  a  simile  ;  but  That  man  is  a  fox  in  his  deal- 
ings is  a  metaphor. 

EXERCISE. 

Point  out  and  explain  the  metaphors  in  the  following  selections  : 

Necessity  is  the  mother  of  invention. 

And  if  I  should  live  to  be 
The  last  leaf  upon  the  tree 

In  the  spring, 
Let  them  smile,  as  I  do  now, 
At  the  old  forsaken  bough 

Where  I  cling. 

—  Holmes  :  The  Last  Leaf. 

Announced  by  all  the  trumpets  of  the  sky, 
Arrives  the  snow ;  and,  driving  o'er  the  fields, 
Seems  nowhere  to  alight. 

—  Emerson  :  The  Snow  Storm. 

And  why  should  Csesar  be  a  tyrant  then  ? 
Poor  man  !  I  know  he  would  not  be  a  wolf, 
But  that  he  sees  the  Romans  are  but  sheep  ; 
He  were  no  lion,  were  not  Romans  hinds. 

—  Shakespeare  :  Julius  Caisar,  Act  i,  Scene  3. 

Mont  Blanc  is  the  monarch  of  mountains ; 

They  crowned  him  long  ago 

On  a  throne  of  rocks,  in  a  robe  of  clouds, 

With  a  diadem  of  snow. 

—  Byron  :  Manfred. 


METONYMY  AND  SYNECDOCHE.  45 

An  enraged  man  is  a  lion,  a  cunning  man  is  a  fox,  a  firm 
man  is  a  rock,  a  learned  man  is  a  torch.  A  lamb  is  inno- 
cence ;  a  snake  is  subtile  spite ;  flowers  express  to  us  the 
most  delicate  affections.  Light  and  darkness  are  our  famil- 
iar expressions  for  knowledge  and  ignorance.  Visible  dis- 
tance behind  and  before  us  is  respectively  our  image  of 
memory  and  hope.  —  Emerson  :  Nature. 

The  following  are  newspaper  clippings  :  — 

The  leaves  and  flowers  were  clean ;  the  grass  was  green 
velvet. 

The  landscape  outside  the  car  window  was  to  him  but  a 
green  ribbon  unrolling  itself  rapidly  or  slowly. 

Imagination  is  a  window.  If  too  wide,  it  means  a  weak- 
ened wall. 

A  yellow  road  wound  through  the  pretty  round  saucer  of 
valley  that  lay  in  the  hollow  of  the  hills. 

A  metaphor  often  aids  one  in  expressing  a  thought 
clearly,  and  the  use  of  metaphorical  adjectives  is  com- 
mon in  ordinary  conversation.  For  example,  a  leaden 
sky,  a  frosty  smile. 

EXERCISE. 

Write  metaphors  comparing  truth  to  light ;  sorrow  to  a  cloud  ; 
sunlight  to  gold  ;   waves  to  mountains  ;    moonlight  to  silver. 

Make  a  list  of  adjectives  used  metaphorically. 

Write  one  or  more  original  metaphors. 

Select  metaphors  from  poems  ;  for  example,  study  The  Wreck 
of  the  Hesperus  ;   The  First  Snowfall ;  Snow-Bound. 

Metonymy  and  Synecdoche.  —  Metonymy  and  synec- 
doche are  figures  of  substitution.      In   metonymy  the 


46  WORDS. 

name  of  one  object  is  substituted  for  the  name  of  an- 
other, the  two  being  so  related  that  the  mention  of  one 
suggests  the  other. 

The  most  common  forms  of  metonymy  are  :  — 

The  container  for  the  thing  Contained  :  — 

The  kettle  boils  (water). 

The  sign  for  the  thing  signified  :  — 

The  pen  is  mightier  than  the  sword  (intelligence  vs. 
force). 

The  name  of  an  author  for  his  works  :  — 
We  read  Shakespeare. 

Synecdoche  substitutes  the  name  of  a  part  for  that  of 
a  whole,  or  a  whole  for  a  part.  It  is  really  a  specialized 
form  of  metonymy. 

The  variations  of  synecdoche  are  :  — 

The  use  of  a  definite  number  for  an  indefinite :  — 
Ten  thousand  fleets  sweep  over  thee  in  vain. 

The  species  for  the  genus  :  — 
A  Daniel  come  to  judgment. 

The  material  for  the  thing  made  :  — 
He  raised  his  glittering  steel  on  high. 

EXERCISE. 

Point  out  and  explain  the  figures  of  substitution  found  in  the 
following  selections :  — 

I  have  sixty  sails,  Caesar  none  better. 

—  Shakespeare  :  Antony  and  Cleopatra,  Act  in,  Scene  7. 


METONYMY  AND  SYNECDOCHE.  47 

The  sceptre,  learning,  physic,  must 
All  follow  this,  and  come  to  dust. 

—  Shakespeare  :   Cymbeline,  Act  iv,  Scene  2. 

A  thousand  spurs  are  striking  deep,  a  thousand  spears  in 
rest, 

A  thousand  knights  are  pressing  close  behind  the  snow- 
white  crest; 

And  in  they  burst,  and  on  they  rushed,  while,  like  a  guid- 
ing star, 

Amidst  the  thickest  carnage  blazed  the  helmet  of  Navarre. 

—  Macaulay:  Ivry. 

And  heard,  with  voice  as  trumpet  loud, 

Bozzaris  cheer  his  band ; 
"  Strike  —  till  the  last  armed  foe  expires ; 
Strike  —  for  your  altars  and  your  fires  ; 
Strike  —  for  the  green  graves  of  your  sires ; 

God  —  and  your  native  land  !  " 

—  Halleck  :  Marco  Bozzaris. 

Friends,  Romans,  countrymen,  lend  me  your  ears ; 
I  come  to  bury  Caesar,  not  to  praise  him. 

Shakespeare  :  Julius  Ccesar,  Act  in,  Scene  2. 

Somewhat  apart  from  the  village,  and  nearer  the  Basin  of 
Minas, 

Benedict  Bellefontaine,  the  wealthiest  farmer  of  Grand-Pre, 

Dwelt  on  his  goodly  acres;  and  with  him,  directing  his 
household, 

Gentle  Evangeline  lived,  his  child,  and  the  pride  of  the 
village. 

Stalwart  and  stately  of  form  was  the  man  of  seventy 
winters ; 

Hearty  and  hale  was  he,  an  oak  that  is  covered  with  snow- 
flakes; 


48  WORDS. 

White  as  the  snow  were  his  locks,  and  his  cheeks  as  brown 

as  the  oak  leaves. 
Fair  was  she  to  behold,  that  maiden  of  seventeen  summers. 

—  Longfellow;  Evangeline. 

Write  sentences  using  knife,  for  surgery;  the  press,  for  news- 
papers ;  crown,  for  royal  government ;  the  chair,  for  the  chairman ; 
the  bench,  for  the  judge;  Shakespeare,  for  his  plays;  the  cup,  for 
its  contents  ;  marble,  for  a  statue. 


CHAPTER   V. 

SENTENCES. 

QUALITIES  OF  A  GOOD  SENTENCE  :  CLEARNESS,  UNITY, 
STRENGTH,  HARMONY  —  GRAMMATICAL  CORRECT- 
NESS— RHETORICAL  SENTENCE-FORMS  :  LOOSE,  PERI- 
ODIC, BALANCED  —  LONG   AND  SHORT    SENTENCES. 

Construction  of  the  English  Sentence. —  The  elements  of 
an  English  sentence  appear  in  a  certain  order  which  is 
recognized  as  normal.  The  subject  stands  before  the 
verb ;  a  word  modifier  of  the  subject  precedes  the  sub- 
ject; modifying  phrases  and  clauses  follow;  modifiers 
of  the  verb  follow  the  verb. 

How  Words  may  be  made  Emphatic. — In  the  English 
sentence  the  beginning  and  the  end  are  the  two  impor- 
tant places.  Therefore  careful  writers  try  to  bring  im- 
portant words  into  these  positions.  There  should  be  no 
marked  effort  to  do  this,  but  where  it  can  be  done  nat- 
urally the  sentence  gains  in  dignity.  A  word  taken 
from  its  normal  place  in  the  middle  of  a  sentence  and  put 
at  the  beginning  or  at  the  end,  at  once  becomes  emphatic. 

Clearness. —  In  composition,  the  greatest  emphasis 
should  be  placed  upon  clearness,  and  as  far  as  possible 
language  should  be  a  transparent  medium  for  the  trans- 
mission of  thought.  The  ultimate  test  of  the  clearness 
of  a  sentence  is  that  it  cannot  be  misunderstood. 

49 


50  SENTENCES. 

If  a  writer  wishes  to  make  his  sentences  mean  to  his 
readers  what  they  mean  to  him,  he  should  be  particu- 
larly careful  in  regard  to  the  following  points  :  — 

The  antecedent  of  every  personal  and  every  relative 
pronoun  should  be  clearly  indicated. 

Modifying  phrases  or  clauses  should  be  so  placed  that 
they  limit  the  word  intended  and  that  only. 

There  should  be  no  expressions  that  can  be  understood 
in  more  than  one  way. 

EXERCISE. 

Observe  in  what  respect  the  following  sentences  offend  against 
clearness :  — 

He  told  the  servant  he  would  be  the  death  of  him  if  he 
did  not  take  care  what  he  was  about  and  mind  what  he 
said. 

Pleasure  and  excitement  had  more  attractions  for  him 
than  his  friend. 

I  shall  pardon  him  if  he  apologizes  and  will  make  repara- 
tion for  the  damage  he  has  done. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  college  should  have  more  land ; 
they  should  buy  the  next  block. 

He  recalled  the  time  when  he  first  visited  the  farm  with 
his  brother  who  has  since  gone  to  Europe  on  horseback. 

While  the  present  century  was  in  its  teens,  and  on  one 
sunshiny  morning  in  June,  there  drove  up  to  the  great  iron 
gate  of  Miss  Pinkerton's  academy  for  young  ladies,  on  Ohis- 
wick  Mall,  a  large  family  coach,  with  two  fat  horses  in  blaz- 
ing harness,  driven  by  a  fat  coachman  in  a  three-cornered 
hat  and  wig,  at  the  rate  of  four  miles  an  hour. 

—  Thackeray:   Vanity  Fair. 


UNITY.  51 

Unity.  —  A  sentence  should  express  but  one  funda- 
mental idea  ;  whatever  additional  ideas  it  may  express 
should  be  subordinated  to  the  principal  idea.  To  secure 
unity  observe  the  following  directions :  — 

Do  not  put  into  one  sentence  ideas  that  belong  to  two 
or  more. 

Do  not  scatter  through  two  or  more  sentences  ideas 
that  belong  in  one. 

Do  not  suddenly  change  the  grammatical  subject  of  a 
sentence  without  good  reason. 

Do  not  treat  subordinate  ideas  as  if  they  were  of  equal 
rank  with  the  main  idea. 

Remember  that  the  complex  sentence  is  especially 
effective  for  securing  unity  in  thought.  Grammatically, 
it  has  but  one  principal  verb;  hence  its  unity  is  more 
evident  than  that  of  the  compound  sentence,  which  must 
include  at  least  two  coordinate  statements. 

EXERCISE. 

Show  in  what  way  the  following  sentences  offend  against 
unity :  — 

Michigan  is  my  native  state,  and  is  noted  for  its  copper 
mines. 

All  these  games  are  interesting,  but  what  is  more  necessary 
than  athletics  is  attention  to  studies. 

This  gentleman  recently  died,  leaving  three  sons,  of  whom 
the  eldest,  who  is  a  musician,  inherits  the  homestead,  which 
is  situated  in  a  charming  region  well  adapted  for  the  culture 
of  grapes. 

Find  the  fundamental  idea  in  the  following  sentences  :  — 

To  my  great  relief,  he  came  to  himself,  opening  his  eyes 
and  looking  about  him  in  a  dazed  sort  of  way. 


52  SENTENCES. 

At  a  small  table,  before  a  fire  of  English  sea-coal,  sat  Mr. 
Jeffries  sipping  coffee,  which  had  grown  to  be  a  very  favor- 
ite beverage  with  him  in  France. 

In  the  bosom  of  one  of  those  spacious  coves  which  indent 
the  eastern  shore  of  the  Hudson,  at  that  broad  expansion  of 
the  river  denominated  by  the  ancient  Dutch  navigators  the 
Tappan  Zee,  and  where  they  always  prudently  shortened 
sail,  and  implored  the  protection  of  St.  Nicholas  when  they 
crossed,  there  lies  a  small  market-town  or  rural  port,  which 
by  some  is  called  Greensburgh,  but  which  is  more  generally 
and  properly  known  by  the  name  of  Tarry  Town. 

—  Irving:  The  Sketch  Book. 

Alice  caught  the  shawl  as  she  spoke,  and  looked  about  for 
the  owner ;  in  another  moment  the  White  Queen  came  run- 
ning wildly  through  the  wood,  with  both  arms  stretched  out 
wide,  as  if  she  were  flying,  and  Alice  very  civilly  went  to 
meet  her  with  the  shawl. 

—  Carroll  :  Through  the  Looking-Glass. 

Develop  the  following  short  sentences  into  long  ones,  retaining 
the  fundamental  idea :  — 

The  morning  was  beautiful. 

My  penknife  is  lost. 

We  gathered  chestnuts. 

Our  dog  ran  away. 

The  soldiers  passed  through  the  town. 

The  base-ball  game  was  lost. 

Change  the  following  sentences  so  as  to  give  unity  to 
each :  — 

It  is  just  a  year  since  the  foundations  were  laid,  and  the 
cost  of  the  whole  building  and  its  furnishings  is  five  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars. 


STEENGTH.  53 

There  was  a  little  valley  here.  A  brook  flowed  through 
the  middle.     Part  of  this  valley  was  cultivated. 

For  the  next  few  years  the  school  has  plenty  of  room,  but 
if  we  look  far  into  the  future  we  shall  see  that  the  grounds 
will  soon  be  covered,  then  where  shall  we  go  for  more 
room  ? 

Strength. —  A  sentence  should  be  so  constructed  that 
it  will  arrest  and  hold  attention.  Such  a  sentence 
is  strong.  The  emphatic  positions  at  the  beginning 
and  the  end  should  be  occupied  by  the  most  important 
words  ;  and  the  writer  should  avoid  the  accumulation 
of  a  series  of  trailing  subordinate  clauses  at  the  end. 
Carelessness  in  this  respect  sacrifices  the  strength  that 
would  come  from  closing  the  sentence  with  words  that 
deserve  distinction.  ■ 

EXERCISE. 

Note  what  gives  strength  to  the  following  sentences ;  it  may 
be  the  arrangement  of  the  words,  or  the  thought  itself  :  — 

Great  is  Diana  of  the  Ephesians.  —  Acts  xxx,  28. 

Sink  or  swim,  live  or  die,  survive  or  perish,  I  give  my 
heart  and  my  hand  to  this  vote. 

—  Webster  :  Eulogy  on  Adams  and  Jefferson. 

The  appearance  of  Rip,  with  his  long,  grizzled  beard, 
his  rusty  fowling  piece,  his  uncouth  dress,  and  an  army  of 
women  and  children  at  his  heels,  soon  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  the  tavern  politicians — Irving  :  Eip  Van  Winkle. 

At  five  o'clock,  Wellington  drew  out  his  watch,  and  was 
heard  to  murmur  these  words,  "Bliicher  or  night." 

—  Victor  Hugo  :  "The  Battle  of  Waterloo,"  in  Les  Miserables. 


54  SENTENCES. 

Rearrange  the  following  sentences  so  as  to  give  each  its  strong- 
est form  :  — 

The  mystery  of  time  and  space  is  great. 

Cowardice  is  the  only  fitting  name  we  can  give  to  such 
conduct  as  this. 

The  opening  by  the  Queen,  on  May  10,  in  Kensington,  in 
the  presence  of  great  crowds  of  distinguished  visitors,  of 
the  Imperial  Institute,  was  to  all  who  were  privileged  to 
see  it,  a  very  impressive  ceremony,  and  full  of  significance 
for  the  mother-land  and  her  colonies,  at  least  to  every  loyal 
Englishman. 

William  Shakespeare  was  the  most  versatile  and  myriad- 
minded  man  of  his  age,  and  one  of  the  greatest  geniuses  of 
all  time. 

The  calf  to  which  the  Israelites  bowed  down,  was  it  not 
made  of  the  trinkets  of  the  common  people  ? 

Pupils  should  bring  to  class  passages  from  their  own  reading, 
in  which  the  sentences  are  noteworthy  for  their  strength. 

Harmony.  —  The  words  of  a  sentence  should  be 
selected  and  arranged  with,  due  regard  to  making  an 
agreeable  impression  ;  this  quality  of  the  sentence  may 
be  called  harmony,  or  euphony.  The  following  simple 
rules  will  aid  in  giving  harmony  to  a  sentence  :  — 

When  two  or  more  words,  —  adjectives,  nouns,  or 
verbs,  —  are  used  together  in  the  same  construction, 
place  the  shorter  word  first  unless  its  meaning  is  so 
important  that  it  properly  takes  the  last  or  emphatic 
place. 

Whenever  possible,  adapt  the  sound  of  a  word  to  its 
meaning. 


HARMONY.  55 

A  succession  of  long  vowels,  or  liquid  consonants,  is 
usually  agreeable  to  the  ear. 

The  recurrence  of  the  same  letter  at  the  beginning  of 
different  words  or  syllables  often  gives  a  pleasing  effect. 

In  order  to  judge  of  the  harmony  of  a  sentence,  read 
it  aloud. 

EXERCISE. 

Test  the  harmony  of  the  following  sentences  :  — 

On  the  other  side  he  looked  down  into  a  deep  mountain 
glen,  wild,  lonely,  and  shagged,  the  bottom  filled  with  frag- 
ments from  the  impending  cliffs,  and  scarcely  lighted  by  the 
reflected  rays  of  the  setting  sun.  —  Irving  :  Rip  Van  Winkle. 

Wet  weather  was  the  worst ;  the  cold,  damp,  clammy  wet, 
that  wrapped  him  up  like  a  moist  greatcoat;  the  only 
kind  of  greatcoat  Toby  owned,  or  could  have  added  to  his 
comfort  by  dispensing  with.  Wet  days,  when  the  rain 
came  slowly,  thickly,  obstinately  down ;  when  the  street's 
throat,  like  his  own,  was  choked  with  mist ;  when  smoking 
umbrellas  passed  and  repassed,  spinning  round  and  round 
like  so  many  teetotums,  as  they  knocked  up  against  each 
other  on  the  crowded  footway,  throwing  off  a  little  whirl- 
pool of  uncomfortable  sprinklings;  when  gutters  brawled 
and  water-spouts  were  full  and  noisy ;  when  the  wet  from 
the  projecting  stones  and  ledges  of  the  church  fell  drip, 
drip,  drip,  on  Toby,  making  the  wisp  of  straw  on  which  he 
stood  mere  mud  in  no  time ;  those  were  the  days  that  tried 
him.  Then,  indeed,  you  might  see  Toby  looking  anxiously 
out  from  his  shelter  in  an  angle  of  the  church  wall  —  such 
a  meagre  shelter  that  in  summer  time  it  never  cast  a  shadow 
thicker  than  a  good-sized  walking-stick  upon  the  sunny 
pavement  —  with  a  disconsolate  and  lengthened  face. 

—  Dickens:   TJie  Chimes. 


56  SENTENCES. 

At  the  usual  evening  hour  the  chapel  bell  began  to  toll, 
and  Thomas  Newcome's  hands  outside  the  bed  feebly  beat 
time.  And  just  as  the  last  bell  struck,  a  peculiar  sweet 
smile  shone  over  his  face,  and  he  lifted  up  his  head  a  little, 
and  quickly  said  "  Adsum ! "  and  fell  back.  It  was  the 
word  we  used  at  school,  when  names  were  called;  and  lo, 
he,  whose  heart  was  as  that  of  a  little  child,  had  answered 
to  his  name,  and  stood  in  the  presence  of  the  Master. 

—  Thackeray:  The  Newcomes. 

Oh  hark !  oh  hear !  how  thin  and  clear, 
And  thinner,  clearer,  further  going ; 

0  sweet  and  far,  from  cliff  and  scar, 
The  horns  of  Elfland  faintly  blowing  ! 

Blow  !    let  us  hear  the  purple  glens  replying; 
Blow,  bugle;  answer,  echoes  —  dying,  dying,  dying. 

—  Tennyson  :   The  Princess. 

Pupils  should  bring  to  class  passages  from  their  own  reading  in 
which  the  sentences  are  noteworthy  for  their  harmony. 

Examine  the  following  sentences,  and  determine  in  each  case 
what  quality  of  a  good  sentence  is  violated.  Rewrite  the  sentences, 
improving  them  as  much  as  possible. 

The  coast  region  is  neither  so  cold  in  winter  nor  so  warm 
in  summer ;  and  it  is  a  much  more  desirable  place  to  live  in 
than  the  interior. 

The  yachtsmen  departed  with  the  best  wishes  of  their 
friends  for  a  long  journey. 

Boys  used  to  climb  on  to  his  roof  with  clods  of  damp 
earth  in  their  hands,  which  they  dropped  down  the  chimney. 

It  is  just  a  year  since  the  land  was  given  to  the  city,  and 
the  foundations  of  the  building  are  to  cost  thirty  thousand 
dollars. 


HARMON  T.  57 

Everything  about  the  mill  was  neat  and  clean,  and  I  was 
just  wishing  that  the  stamps  were  running,  when  the  whistle 
called  us  on  board  and  as  we  left  the  wharf,  we  waved  our 
hands  to  the  miners  who  did  not  seem  worn  out  by  their 
hard  work. 

He  learned  from  the  hotel  register  that  his  uncle  and 
daughter  were  in  the  city. 

The  general  was  better  disposed  to  England  than  France. 

No  sooner  was  the  book  removed  from  the  basket  than  he 
placed  it  upon  the  shelf. 

Language  is  constantly  changing  and  slang  words  play  no 
small  part  in  producing  it. 

My  aunt  and  I  had  been  planning  to  visit  Chicago  for 
two  years. 

While  the  tragical  scene  of  the  fire  was  at  its  climax,  the 
perpetrator  of  the  crime  was  arrested  on  the  spot. 

Many  imposing  buildings  are  being  erected  now. 

A  throng  of  bearded  men  were  in  sad-colored  garments 
and  gray,  steeple-crowned  hats.  Intermixed  were  women. 
Some  wore  hoods  and  some  were  bareheaded.  All  were 
assembled  in  front  of  a  wooden  edifice. 

Suddenly  he  thought  that  he  was  surrounded  by  enemies, 
but  nothing  could  be  seen  and  he  saw  that  it  was  a  mistake. 

In  the  following  examples  observe  that  the  participial  phrase  is 
unattached  to  any  word.     Recast  the  sentences. 

Looking  straight  upward,  small  patches  of  blue  sky  were 
visible  among  the  tree-tops. 

Not  finding  the  trail  at  once,  considerable  time  was  lost 
in  looking  for  it. 


58  SENTENCES. 

After  descending  the  stairs,  the  first  door  to  the  left  opens 
into  the  dining-room. 

While  attempting  to  explain  the  lesson  to  his  class,  the 
bell  rang. 

Of  these  four  qualities,  clearness,  unity,  strength,  and 
harmony,  the  most  important  is  clearness  ;  and  any 
or  all  of  the  others  may  be  sacrificed,  if  necessary,  to 
attain  it. 

Grammatical  Correctness.  —  In  order  to  compose  cor- 
rectly and  effectively,  the  grammatical  structure  of 
sentences  must  always  be  considered.  Rhetoric  rests 
upon  the  foundation  of  grammar.  Blunders  in  syntax 
are  always  a  source  of  weakness  in  composition.  A 
subject  and  its  predicate  that  do  not  agree  may  destroy 
the  effect  of  the  most  impassioned  appeal;  and  the  best 
of  kindly  intentions  expressed  in  bad  grammar  may 
produce  amusement  when  it  should  produce  deeper 
emotions. 

EXERCISE. 

Write  sentences  of  the  following  grammatical  structure  :  — 

A  complex  sentence  containing  two  subordinate  clauses. 
A   simple   interrogative   sentence   containing   a  participial 

phrase. 
A  compound  sentence  containing  one  complex  member. 
A  complex  sentence  containing  an  infinitive  phrase. 
An    imperative    sentence;    afterward   change   it    into    the 

interrogative  form. 

SUGGESTIONS  TO  THE  WRITER. 

Study  the  sentences  you  write  to  see  if  they  are  grammati- 
cally correct;  if  in  doubt,  analyze  them. 


LOOSE  AND  PERIODIC  SENTENCES.  59 

Rhetorical  Sentence-forms  —  known  as  the  loose,  the 
periodic,  and  the  balanced  —  depend  upon  a  certain 
arrangement  of  the  words  of  the  sentence,  as  well  as 
upon  the  meaning  conveyed. 

A  Loose  Sentence.  —  A  loose  sentence  is  one  so  con- 
structed as  to  be  grammatically  complete  at  one  or  more 
points  before  its  end.  This  is  the  natural  sentence  of 
conversation  ;  it  is  also  well  adapted  to  narration  and 
description,  and  is  appropriate  to  any  simple,  unaffected 
writing.  A  sentence  should  never  be  so  loose  in  struc- 
ture as  to  lose  its  unity  ;  such  a  sentence  fatigues  the 
listener  and  invites  inattention. 

EXERCISE. 

Note,  in  the  following  examples,  at  what  points  each  sentence 
may  be  regarded  as  complete. 

In  short,  French  was  the  language  of  honor,  of  chivalry, 
and  even  of  justice;  while  the  far  more  manly  and  expres- 
sive Anglo-Saxon  was  abandoned  to  the  use  of  rustics  and 
hinds,  who  knew  no  other.  —  Scott  :  Ivanhoe. 

On  the  death  of  a  king,  the  senate  took  charge  of  the 
government ;  the  senators  ruled  by  turns,  each  for  a  period 
of  five  days,  in  the  order  determined  by  lot.  The  ruler  for 
the  time  being  was  termed  interrex,  and  the  period  between 
the  death  of  a  king  and  the  election  of  his  successor  was  an 
interregnum.  — Roman  History. 

A  Periodic  Sentence.  —  A  periodic  sentence  is  one  so 
constructed  that  the  meaning  is  not  complete  until 
the  end.  The  name  is  usually  applied  to  a  sentence 
consisting  of  a  number  of  phrases  or  clauses  essen- 
tially related  to  the  principal  clause,  which  stands  at 


60  SENTENCES. 

the  end.  Every  sentence,  long  or  short,  in  which  the 
sense  is  not  complete  until  the  end,  is  periodic  in 
structure ;  but  in  short  sentences  we  do  not  greatly 
consider  this  fact. 

The  literary  value  of  a  periodic  sentence  is  its  power 
to  stimulate  attention. 

EXERCISE. 

Point  out  the  clause  that  completes  the  thought. 

I  am  filled  with  amazement  when  I  am  told  that  in  this 
enlightened  age  and  in  the  heart  of  the  Christian  world, 
there  are  persons  who  can  witness  this  daily  manifestation 
of  the  power  and  wisdom  of  the  Creator,  and  yet  say  in 
their  hearts,  "  There  is  no  God."  —  Edward  Everett. 

Those  who  roused  the  people  to  resistance ;  who  directed 
their  measures  through  a  long  series  of  eventful  years ;  who 
formed  out  of  the  most  unpromising  materials  the  finest 
army  that  Europe  had  ever  seen  ;  who  trampled  down  King, 
Church,  and  Aristocracy ;  who,  in  the  short  intervals  of 
domestic  sedition  and  rebellion,  made  the  name  of  England 
terrible  to  every  nation  on  the  face  of  the  earth  —  were  no 
vulgar  fanatics. 

—  Macadlay,  "The  Puritans,"  in  the  Essay  on  Milton. 

A  Balanced  Sentence.  —  A  balanced  sentence  consists 
of  two  or  more  parts  that  are  similar  in  structure,  and 
parallel  or  opposite  in  meaning.     For  example  :  — 

The  law  of  the  Lord  is  perfect,  converting  the  soul ;  the 
testimony  of  the  Lord  is  sure,  making  wise  the  simple. 

The  statutes  of  the  Lord  are  right,  rejoicing  the  heart ; 
the  commandment  of  the  Lord  is  pure,  enlightening  the 
eyes.  —  Psalm  xix,  7,  8. 


BALANCED   SENTENCES.  61 

A  soft  answer  turnetli  away  wrath,  but  grievous  words 
stir  up  anger.  —  Proverbs  xv,  1. 

In  practice,  there  occur  many  variations  from  typical 
forms,  and  such  variations  add  greatly  to  the  grace  and 
finish  of  a  composition.  A  loose  sentence  often  con- 
tains parts  that  are  periodic  or  balanced ;  and  a  com- 
pound sentence  frequently  has  one  member  loose  and 
another  periodic. 

Balanced  sentences  can  be  found  in  great  numbers 
in  the  Bible,  especially  in  'Proverbs,  Psalms,  Isaiah,  and 
Job. 

The  following  is  an  excellent  example  of  a  paragraph 
of  balanced  sentences  :  — 

Talent  is  something,  but  tact  is  everything.  Talent  is 
serious,  sober,  grave,  and  respectable;  tact  is  all  that  and 
more,  too.  It  is  not  a  sixth  sense,  but  it  is  the  life  of  all 
the  five.  It  is  the  open  eye,  the  quick  ear,  the  judging 
taste,  the  keen  smell,  and  the  lively  touch ;  it  is  the  inter- 
preter of  all  riddles,  the  surra ounter  of  all  -difficulties,  the 
remover  of  all  obstacles.  .  .  .  Talent  is  power,  tact  is  skill ; 
talent  knows  what  to  do,  tact  knows  how  to  do  it;  talent 
makes  a  man  respectable,  tact  will  make  him  respected; 
talent  is  wealth,  tact  is  ready  money. 

—  London  Atlas,  "Tact  and  Talent." 

EXERCISE. 

Write  examples  of  the  following  rhetorical  sentence-forms  :  — 

A  loose  sentence  containing  two  points  where  it  is  struc- 
turally complete. 

A  periodic  sentence  concerning  The  United  States  —  Shake- 
speare —  Longfellow  —  Tennyson. 


62  SENTENCES. 

Change  sentence-forms  as  follows  :  — 

Select  several  loose  sentences ;  then  change  them  into  the 
periodic  form. 

Change  an  affirmative  declarative  sentence  into  an  interroga- 
tive sentence  and  preserve  the  meaning. 

Select  several  periodic  sentences  and  change  them  into  the 
loose  form. 

Write  a  paragraph,  mainly  of  balanced  sentences,  upon  one  of 
the  following  topics  :  — 

Energy  compared  with  indolence. 

Immigrants  who  help  the  country  and  immigrants  who  harm 
the  country. 

Contrast  Washington  and  Lincoln;  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States ;  Longfellow  and  Whittier. 

Contrast  spring  and  autumn ;  the  tropics  and  the  arctic 
regions ;  an  oak  and  a  weeping  willow ;  a  dog  and  a  cat ; 
a  fish  and  a  bird. 

Short  and  Long  Sentences.  —  Short  sentences  are  easily 
composed,  are  usually  free  from  grammatical  errors, 
and  are  rarely  misunderstood.  They  are  natural  and 
effective  in  ordinary  speech;  but  when  several  short 
sentences  are  used  consecutively  in  composition,  the 
effect  is  sometimes  uneven  and  disjointed.  The  dis- 
tinctive quality  of  the  short  sentence  is  force  and 
directness.     For  example  :  — 

Carelessness  has  compromised  this  vessel.  At  this  very 
hour,  it  is  perhaps  lost.  To  be  at  sea  is  to  be  in  front  of 
the  enemy.  A  ship  making  a  voyage  is  an  army  waging 
war.  The  tempest  is  concealed,  but  it  is  at  hand.  The 
whole  sea  is  an  ambuscade.  Death  is  the  penalty  of  any 
misdemeanor  committed  in  the  face  of  the  enemy.    No  fault 


SHOUT  AND  LONG   SENTENCES.  63 

is  reparable.  Courage  should  be  rewarded  and  negligence 
punished.  — Victor  Hugo  :  The  sentence  of  the  captain  of  the  run- 
away gun,  in  Ninety-three. 

A  long  sentence  is  more  difficult  to  compose  than  a 
short  one,  because  more  elements  enter  into  it.  There 
is  a  certain  smoothness  and  grace  about  a  well-com- 
posed long  sentence,  but  there  is  also  an  ever  present 
danger  of  obscurity.  English  usage  now  is  tending 
toward  the  short  or  the  medium,  rather  than  toward 
the  long,  sentence. 

An  example  of  the  long  sentence  of  the  eighteenth- 
century  writers  is  the  following  :  — 

My  friend  Sir  Roger  has  often  told  me,  with  a  great  deal 
of  mirth,  that  at  his  first  coming  to  his  estate,  he  found 
three  parts  of  his  house  altogether  useless ;  that  the  best 
room  in  it  had  the  reputation  of  being  haunted,  and  by  that 
means  was  locked  up ;  that  noises  had  been  heard  in  his 
long  gallery,  so  that  he  could  not  get  a  servant  to  enter  it 
after  eight  o'clock  at  night ;  that  the  door  of  one  of  his 
chambers  was  nailed  up,  because  there  went  a  story  in  the 
family  that  a  butler  had  formerly  hanged  himself  in  it ;  and 
that  his  mother,  who  lived  to  a  great  age,  had  shut  up  half 
the  rooms  in  the  house,  in  which  either  her  husband,  a  son, 
or  a  daughter  had  died. 

—  Addison:  "  Coverley  Ghosts,"  in  The  Spectator. 

In  composition,  a  pleasanter  effect  is  produced  by 
using  both  long  and  short  sentences  than  by  permit- 
ting either  to  predominate.  The  following  examples 
will  illustrate  this  :  — 

The  clock  of  St.  George's  had  struck  five.  Mrs.  Dove  had 
just  poured  out  the  Doctor's  seventh  cup  of  tea.    The  Doctor 


64  SENTENCES. 

was  sitting  in  his  arm-chair ;  Sir  Thomas  was  purring  upon 
his  knees ;  and  Pompey  stood  looking  up  to  his  mistress 
wagging  his  tail,  sometimes  gently  putting  his  paw  against 
her  apron  to  remind  her  that  he  wished  for  another  bit  of 
bread  and  butter.  Barnaby  was  gone  to  the  farm ;  and 
Nobs  was  in  the  stable.  —  Robert  Southey  :  TJie  Doctor. 

She  was  dead.  No  sleep  so  beautiful  and  calm,  so  free 
from  trace  of  pain,  so  fair  to  look  upon.  She  seemed  a 
creature  fresh  from  the  hand  of  God,  and  waiting  for  the 
breath  of  life ;  not  one  who  had  lived  and  suffered  death. 
Her  couch  was  dressed  with  here  and  there  some  winter- 
berries  and  green  leaves,  gathered  in  a  spot  she  had  been 
used  to  favor.  "  When  I  die,  put  near  me  something  that 
has  loved  the  light,  and  had  the  sky  above  it  always." 
These  Avere  her  words.  She  was  dead.  Dear,  gentle,  pa- 
tient, noble  Nell  was  dead.  Her  little  bird  —  a  poor,  slight 
thing  the  pressure  of  a  finger  would  have  crushed  —  was 
stirring  nimbly  in  its  cage  ;  and  the  strong  heart  of  its  child- 
mistress  was  mute  and  motionless  forever.  Where  were  the 
traces  of  her  early  cares,  her  sufferings  and  fatigues  ?  All 
gone.  Sorrow  was  gone,  indeed,  in  her ;  but  peace  and  per- 
fect happiness  were  born  —  imaged  in  her  tranquil  beauty 
and  profound  repose. 

—  Dickens  :  "  Death  of  Little  Nell,"  in  Old  Curiosity  Shop. 


CHAPTER   VI. 
THE  PARAGRAPH. 

TYPICAL   PARAGRAPH  —  PARAGRAPH  OF  DIALOGUE  — 
OF   POETRY  —  EDITORIAL   PARAGRAPH. 

In  all  printed  prose  there  are  at  irregular  intervals 
indented  lines  which  divide  the  text  into  paragraphs. 
A  printed  page  so  divided  gives  a  pleasanter  impression 
than  one  which  is  unbroken.  The  English  writers  of 
the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  apparently 
considered  paragraphs  arbitrary  divisions,  to  be  made 
whenever  convenient.  At  the  present  time,  however, 
the  paragraph  is  regarded  as  a  unit,  composed  of  sen- 
tences which  more  or  less  directly  refer  to  a  given 
topic  either  expressed  or  implied. 

The  following  examples  illustrate  the  typical  form  of 
the  modern  paragraph  :  — 

Narration.  —  A  3*oung  friend  has  lately  written  an  admi- 
rable article  in  one  of  the  journals,  entitled  "  Saints  and 
their  Bodies."  Approving  of  his  general  doctrines,  and 
grateful  for  his  records  of  personal  experience,  I  cannot  re- 
fuse to  add  my  own  experimental  confirmation  of  his  eulogy 
of  one  particular  form  of  active  exercise  and  amusement, 
namely,  boating.  For  the  past  nine  years,  I  have  rowed,  on 
fresh  or  salt  water.  My  present  fleet  on  the  river  Charles 
consists  of  three  row-boats.  A  small  fiat-bottomed  skiff  of 
the  shape  of  a  flatiron,  kept  mainly  to  lend  to  boys.  A 
fancy  "dory"  for  two  pairs  of  sculls,  in  which  I  sometimes 

65 


66  THE  PARAGRAPH. 

go  out  with  ray  young  folks.  My  own  particular  water- 
sulky,  a  "  skeleton  "  or  "  shell "  race-boat,  twenty-two  feet 
long,  with  huge  outriggers,  which  boat  I  pull  with  ten-foot 
sculls,  —  alone,  of  course,  as  it  holds  but  one,  and  tips  him 
out,  if  he  doesn't  mind  what  he  is  about.  In  this  I  glide 
around  the  Back  Bay,  down  the  stream,  up  the  Charles  to 
Cambridge  and  Watertown,  up  the  Mystic,  round  the  wharves 
in  the  wake  of  steamboats  —  which  have  a  swell  after  them 
delightful  to  rock  upon ;  I  linger  under  the  bridges ;  rub 
against  the  black  sides  of  old  wood-schooners ;  cool  down 
under  the  overhanging  stern  of  some  tall  Indiaman;  stretch 
across  to  the  Navy-yard,  where  the  sentinel  warns  me  off 
from  the  Ohio,  just  as  if  I  should  hurt  her  by  lying  in  her 
shadow;  then  strike  out  into  the  harbor,  where  the  water 
gets  clear  and  the  air  smells  of  the  ocean — till  all  at  once 
I  remember  that,  if  a  west  wind  blows  up  of  a  sudden,  I 
shall  drift  along  past  the  islands,  out  of  sight  of  the  dear 
old  Statehouse,  plate,  tumbler,  knife  and  fork  all  waiting  at 
home,  but  no  chair  drawn  up  to  the  table, — all  the  dear 
people  waiting,  waiting,  waiting,  while  the  boat  is  sliding, 
sliding,  sliding  into  the  great  desert,  where  there  is  no  tree 
and  no  fountain.  As  I  don't  want  my  wreck  to  be  washed 
up  on  one  of  the  beaches  in  company  with  devil' s-aprons, 
bladder-weeds,  dead  horse-shoes,  and  bleached  crab-shells, 
I  turn  about  and  flap  my  long,  narrow  wings  for  home. 
Then  back  to  my  moorings  at  the  foot  of  the  Common,  off 
with  the  rowing  dress,  dash  under  the  green  translucent 
wave,  return  to  the  garb  of  civilization,  walk  through  the 
Garden,  take  a  look  at  my  elms  on  the  Common,  and,  reach- 
ing my  habitat,  in  consideration  of  my  advanced  period  of 
life,  indulge  in  the  Elysian  abandonment  of  a  huge  recum- 
bent chair.  —  Holmes  :  Autocrat  of  the  Breakfast  Table. 

The  first  sentence  is  introductory;  the  second  tells 
what  the  paragraph   is  about.     The  others  relate  the 


DESCRIPTION.  67 

author's  experiences  in  boating,  until  the  last,  which 
ends  the  story  and  locks  the  paragraph. 

Description.  —  I  think,  that,  if  required,  on  pain  of  death, 
to  name  instantly  the  most  perfect  thing  in  the  universe,  I 
should  risk  my  fate  on  a  bird's  egg.  There  is,  first,  its 
exquisite  fragility  of  material,  strong  only  by  the  mathe- 
matical precision  of  that  form  so  daintily  moulded.  There 
is  its  absolute  purity  from  external  stain,  since  that  thin 
barrier  remains  impassable  until  the  whole  is  in  ruins,  — a 
purity  recognized  in  the  household  proverb  of  "  An  apple, 
an  egg,  and  a  nut."  Then,  its  range  of  tints,  so  varied,  so 
subdued,  and  so  beautiful,  —  whether  of  pure  white,  like  the 
Martin's,  or  pure  green,  like  the  Robin's,  or  dotted  and 
mottled  into  the  loveliest  of  browns,  like  the  Red  Thrush's, 
or  aquamarine,  with  stains  of  moss-agate,  like  the  Chipping 
Sparrow's,  or  blotched  with  long,  weird  ink-marks  on  a  pale 
ground,  like  the  Oriole's,  as  if  it  bore  inscribed  some  magic 
clew  to  the  bird's  darting  flight  and  pensile  nest.  Above  all, 
the  associations  and  predictions  of  this  little  wonder,  —  that 
one  may  bear  home  between  his  fingers  all  that  winged 
splendor,  all  that  celestial  melody,  coiled  in  mystery  within 
these  tiny  walls  !  Even  the  chrysalis  is  less  amazing,  for  its 
form  always  preserves  some  trace,  however  fantastic,  of  the 
perfect  insect,  and  it  is  but  moulting  a  skin ;  but  this  egg 
appears  to  the  eye  like  a  separate  unit  from  some  other 
kingdom  of  nature,  claiming  more  kindred  with  the  very 
stones  than  with  feathery  existence ;  and  it  is  as  if  a  pearl 
opened  and  an  angel  sang.  —  Higginson  :  The  Life  of  Birds. 

The  topic  is  happily  introduced  by  the  first  sentence. 
Afterward  the  perfection  of  a  bird's  egg  is  emphasized 
by  a  description  of  its  fragility,  its  purity,  its  color. 
The  closing  sentence  strengthens  all  that  has  gone 
before  and  ends  with  a  strong  figure. 


68  TIIE  PARAGRAPH. 

Exposition.  —  Human  character  does  evermore  publish 
itself.  It  will  not  be  concealed.  It  hates  darkness  —  it 
rushes  into  light.  The  most  fugitive  deed  and  word,  the 
mere  air  of  doing  a  thing,  the  intimated  purpose,  express 
character.  If  you  act,  you  show  character ;  if  you  sit  still, 
you  show  it ;  if  you  sleep,  you  show  it.  You  think  because 
you  have  spoken  nothing,  when  others  spoke,  and  have  given 
no  opinion  on  the  times,  on  the  church,  on  slavery,  on  the 
college,  on  parties  and  persons,  that  your  verdict  is  still 
expected  with  curiosity  as  a  reserved  wisdom.  Far  other- 
wise ;  your  silence  answers  very  loud.  You  have  no  oracle 
to  utter,  and  your  fellow-men  have  learned  that  you  can- 
not help  them ;  for  oracles  speak.  Doth  not  wisdom  cry, 
and  understanding  put  forth  her  voice  ? 

—  Emerson:  Spiritual  Laws. 

The  first  sentence  plainly  states  the  topic.  The 
other  sentences  develop  it,  by  showing  the  result  of 
endeavoring  to  conceal  character.  The  last  sentence, 
being  interrogative,  differs  in  form  from  the  others, 
and  this  difference  makes  it  emphatic. 

Argumentation.  —  First,  Sir,  permit  me  to  observe  that 
the  use  of  force  alone  is  but  temporary.  It  may  subdue  for 
a  moment,  but  it  does  not  remove  the  necessity  of  subduing 
again ;  and  a  nation  is  not  governed  which  is  perpetually  to 
be  conquered. 

My  next  objection  is  its  uncertainty.  Terror  is  not 
always  the  effect  of  force,  and  an  armament  is  not  a  victory. 
If  you  do  not  succeed,  you  are  without  resource ;  for,  con- 
ciliation failing,  force  remains ;  but,  force  failing,  no  fur- 
ther hope  of  conciliation  is  left.  Power  and  authority  are 
sometimes  bought  by  kindness ;  but  they  can  never  be 
begged  as  alms  by  an  impoverished  and  defeated  violence. 


A  R  G  UMEN  TA  TION.  C)  9 

A  further  objection  to  force  is,  that  you  impair  the  object 
by  your  very  endeavors  to  preserve  it.  The  thing  you 
fought  for  is  not  the  thing  which  you  recover ;  but  depre- 
ciated, sunk,  wasted,  and  consumed  in  the  contest.  Nothing 
less  will  content  me  than  whole  America.  I  do  not  choose 
to  consume  its  strength  along  with  our  own,  because  in  all 
parts  it  is  the  British  strength  that  I  consume.  I  do  not 
choose  to  be  caught  by  a  foreign  enemy  at  the  end  of  this 
exhausting  conflict ;  and  still  less  in  the  midst  of  it.  I  may 
escape ;  but  I  can  make  no  insurance  against  such  an  event. 
Let  me  add,  that  I  do  not  choose  wholly  to  break  the  Ameri- 
can spirit;  because  it  is  the  spirit  that  has  made  the 
country. 

Lastly,  we  have  no  sort  of  experience  in  favor  of  force  as 
an  instrument  in  the  rule  of  our  Colonies.  Their  growth 
and  their  utility  has  been  owing  to  methods  altogether  dif- 
ferent. Our  ancient  indulgence  has  been  said  to  be  pur- 
sued to  a  fault.  It  may  be  so.  But  we  know  if  feeling  is 
evidence,  that  our  fault  was  more  tolerable  than  our  attempt 
to  mend  it ;  and  our  sin  far  more  salutary  than  our  penitence. 

—  Burke  :   Conciliation  with  the  Colonies. 

In  his  discussion,  Burke  considers  four  objections  to 
the  use  of  force.  He  gives  to  each  of  these  a  para- 
graph, and  states  its  topic  in  the  first  sentence. 

These  typical  paragraphs  show  in  every  case  a  sen- 
tence at  the  beginning,  or  near  it,  which  clearly  states 
the  topic.  This  is  then  developed.  The  closing  sen- 
tence is  emphatic  or  distinctly  final. 

EXERCISE. 

Let  each  pupil  bring  into  class  selected  paragraphs  of  typical 
form ;  note  the  topic,  show  how  it  has  been  developed,  and  observe 
the  value  of  the  final  sentence. 


70  THE  PARAGRAPH. 

Write  a  typical  paragraph  upon  one  of  the  following  sub- 
jects :  — 

Lost  in  the  Woods. 

Coming  Home  from  a  Picnic. 
A  Race  for  Life. 
A  Railway  Station  at  Train-time. 
A  Store  Window  at  Christmas. 
The  Woods  in  October. 
The  Value  of  an  Education. 
How  to  deserve  Friends. 
A  Curfew  Law  is  desirable. 
Freedom  is  essential  to  Happiness. 

This  list  may  easily  be  enlarged,  and  pupils  should  be  encour- 
aged to  use  topics  of  their  own  selection. 

Not  all  paragraphs  are  of  the  typical  form.  Some- 
times the  topic  is  stated  at  the  end,  all  the  sentences 
leading  to  it  ;  again,  it  may  appear  in  the  middle. 
Frequently  it  is  not  expressed  at  all,  and  yet  the  para- 
graph is  clearly  a  unit.  The  following  is  an  example 
of  this  type  :  — 

Several  domestics,  whose  dress  held  various  proportions 
betwixt  the  richness  of  their  master's  and  the  coarse  and 
simple  attire  of  Gurth  the  swineherd,  watched  the  looks 
and  waited  the  commands  of  the  Saxon  dignitary.  Two  or 
three  servants  of  a  superior  order  stood  behind  their  master 
upon  the  dais ;  the  rest  occupied  the  lower  part  of  the  hall. 
Other  attendants  there  were  of  a  different  description :  two 
or  three  large  and  shaggy  greyhounds,  such  as  were  then 
employed  in  hunting  the  stag  and  wolf ;  as  many  slow- 
hounds  of  a  large  bony  breed,  with  thick  necks,  large  heads, 
and  long  ears;  and  one  or  two  of  the  smaller  dogs,  now 
called  terriers,  which  waited  with  impatience  the  arrival  of 
the  supper;  but,  with  the  sagacious  knowledge  of  physiog- 


THE  PRINCIPLE  OF  THE  PARAGRAPH.  71 

nomy  peculiar  to  their  race,  forebore  to  intrude  upon  the 
moody  silence  of  their  master,  apprehensive  probably  of  a 
small  white  truncheon  which  lay  by  Cedric's  trencher,  for 
the  purpose  of  repelling  the  advances  of  his  four-legged 
dependents.  One  grisly  old  wolf-dog  alone,  with  the  liberty 
of  an  indulged  favorite,  had  planted  himself  close  by  the 
chair  of  state,  and  occasionally  ventured  to  solicit  notice  by 
putting  his  large  hairy  head  upon  his  master's  knee,  or 
pushing  his  nose  into  his  hand.  Even  he  was  repelled  by 
the  stern  command,  "  Down,  Balder,  down  !  I  am  not  in  the 
humor  for  foolery."  —  Scott  :  Ivanhoe. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  form  of  a  paragraph  is  really 
of  little  consequence ;  the  underlying  principle  is  that 
it  shall  consider  one  topic  and  that  this  topic  shall  be 
discussed  in  some  effective  way.  Masters  of  English 
speech  are  chiefly  concerned  that  their  thought  shall  be 
clearly  expressed,  not  that  any  set  method  of  arrange- 
ment shall  be  adopted. 

EXERCISE. 

Topic  sentences  to  be  developed  into  paragraphs :  — 

The  last  game  of  ball  was  the  best  of  the  season. 

The  morning  paper  brings  news  of  another  terrible  rail- 
way accident. 

There  are  few  places  more  favorable  for  the  study  of 
character  than  a  street-car. 

One  of  the  pleasures  of  the  country  is  to  go  nutting. 

The  newspapers  have  just  reported  the  destruction  of  the 
peach  crop  in  Maryland. 

There  is  an  old  deserted  mill  a  few  miles  up  the  river. 

Have  you  ever  tried  to  make  a  garden? 

It  was  very  lively  on  our  street  last  night- 


72  THE  PARAGRAPH. 

Have  you  ever  watched  the  effect  of  moonlight  upon 
clouds  ? 

The  sounds  which  the  ocean  makes  must  be  very  signifi- 
cant to  those  who  live  near  it. 

The  statement  that  "  birds  in  their  little  nests  agree  "  is 
very  far  from  being  true. 

Fashions  in  dress  are  always  changing. 

On  the  sands  of  Africa  and  Arabia  the  camel  is  a  sacred 
and  precious  gift. 

When  men  strike,  the  side  which  can  afford  to  be  idle 
the  longer  will  Avin. 

There  are  some  books  toward  which  we  feel  a  personal 
friendship. 

This  is  the  kind  of  picnic  that  I  should  like  to  attend. 

When  to  use  toill  and  when  to  use  shall  is  a  mystery  to 
many  students. 

Whittier  was  a  born  poet. 

In  athletics,  there  are  four  different  kinds  of  running: 
sprinting,  middle  distance,  long  distance,  and  cross-country. 

Lincoln's  early  advantages  were  extremely  limited. 

School  authorities  have  come  to  see  the  importance  of 
physical  culture. 

SUGGESTIONS  TO  THE  WHITER. 

Carry  the  thought  in  sequence  from  the  beginning  to 
the  end  and  close  the  paragraph  with  some  emphatic  sen- 
tence. 

See  that  your  sentences  are  well  connected.  Do  not  con- 
fine your  list  of  conjunctions  to  and  and  but;  consider  the 
adaptability  and  the  usefulness  of  though,  ivhile,  hence,  since, 
accordingly,  yet,  notwithstanding,  therefore,  moreover,  however, 
etc. 

Remember  that  in  a  manuscript,  as  well  as  in  print,  the 
first  word  of  a  paragraph  should  be  indented. 


DIALOGUE  OB   CONVERSATION.  73 

The  Paragraph  of  Dialogue  or  Conversation.  —  In  a 
dialogue  or  conversation  the  alternate  speeches  take 
the  form  of  separate  paragraphs,  even  though  what  is 
said  consists  of  but  a  single  word,  as  "yes"  or  "no." 
With  the  speeches  are  often  grouped  scraps  of  narration, 
description,  or  reflection. 

"  I  suppose,"  Alice  was  beginning,  but  the  Eed  Queen 
answered  for  her.  "Try  another  Subtraction  sum.  Take  a 
bone  from  a  dog,  what  remains  ?  " 

Alice  considered.  "  The  bone  wouldn't  remain,  of  course, 
if  I  took  it,  —  and  the  dog  wouldn't  remain  ;  it  would  come 
to  bite  me,  —  and  I'm  sure  I  shouldn't  remain." 

"  Then  you  think  nothing  would  remain  ?  "  said  the  Red 
Queen. 

"  I  think  that's  the  answer." 

"  Wrong,  as  usual,"  said  the  Eed  Queen ;  "  the  dog's 
temper  would  remain." 

"  But  I  don't  see  how  — " 

"  Why,  look  here  ! "  the  Reel  Queen  cried ;  "  the  dog  would 
lose  its  temper  ;  wouldn't  it  ?  " 

"  Perhaps  it  would,"  Alice  replied  cautiously. 

"  Then  if  the  dog  went  away,  its  temper  would  remain  ! " 
the  Queen  returned  triumphantly. 

Alice  said  as  gravely  as  she  could,  "  They  might  go  dif- 
ferent ways."  But  she  couldn't  help  thinking  to  herself, 
"  What  dreadful  nonsense  we  are  talking." 

—  Carroll  :   Through  the  Looking-Glass. 

EXEKCISE. 

Let  each  pupil  bring  into  class  an  example  of  dialogue,  with 
paragraphs  carefully  copied. 

Let  the  class  write  dialogues  from  dictation,  giving  especial  care 
to  punctuation  and  indentation  of  paragraphs. 


74  TEE  PARAGRAPH. 

The  Single  Sentence  Paragraph.  —  A  paragraph  consist- 
ing of  a  single  sentence  is  frequently  used  by  novel- 
ists as  a  means  of  emphasis.  Certain  newspapers  now 
use  it  largely  in  editorial  writing.  Undoubtedly  the 
form  has  epigrammatic  force,  but  it  has  not  yet  attained 
literary  standing. 

And,  it  being  low  water,  he  went  out  with  the  tide. 

—  Dickens  :  Death  of  Barkis  in  David  Copperfield. 

The  Paragraph  of  Poetry.  —  The  stanza  arrangement 
of  many  poems  makes  impossible  any  division  that  does 
not  coincide  with  the  stanza ;  but  in  poems  written  in 
the  form  of  Evangeline,  Snow-Bound,  The  Princess,  and 
Idylls  of  the  King,  the  divisions  are  real  paragraphs. 

Editorial  Paragraph.  —  An  editorial  paragraph,  as  its 
name  implies,  is  a  type  found  principally  in  newspapers. 
The  writer  must  condense  all  that  he  has  to  say  into  a 
limited  space,  with  the  result  that  what  he  writes  may 
be  a  real  paragraph,  or  it  may  be  a  short,  complete 
essay.  In  a  newspaper  office,  however,  it  is  always 
called  a  paragraph. 

The  editor  of  a  school  journal  necessarily  uses  the 
editorial  paragraph.  To  make  his  work  effective,  he 
should  cultivate  clearness  and  force  in  expression, 
should  always  be  fair  in  his  statements,  and  ever  main- 
tain a  tone  of  respect  toward  his  readers. 

EXERCISE. 

Write  news  items  of  a  single  paragraph  about  affairs  of  your 
school,  your  town,  your  city,  such  as  would  be  suitable  to  appear 
in  your  School  Journal. 

Write  several  one-line  paragraphs  for  your  School  Journal. 


EDITORIAL  PARAGRAPH.  75 

Write  editorial  paragraphs  for  your  School  Journal  upon  one  or 
more  of  the  following  subjects  :  — 

A  Protest  against  Crowded  Street -cars. 
The  Need  of  a  New  Skating-rink. 
An  Advertisement  of  a  New  Magazine. 
School  Athletics  —  What  do  they  Need  ? 
Some  Bad  Tendencies  in  Class-room  Behavior. 
Beginning  of  the  School  Year. 
College  Requirements  in  English. 
Use  of  the  Conversational  Voice. 

Relate  an  incident  of  your  own  experience  so  as  to  introduce 
dialogue,  such  as  :  — 

Acting  as  Umpire  for  a  Basket-ball  Game. 
Electing  a  Class  President. 

Announce  a  course  of  lectures  that  will  be  given  during  the 
winter. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
DESCRIPTION. 

THREE  TYPES  OP  DESCRIPTION  —  THE  POINT  OF  VIEW  — 
ENRICHED  DESCRIPTION  —  OBJECTIVE  AND  SUBJEC- 
TIVE DESCRIPTION  —  METHODS  OP  DESCRIBING  —  DE- 
SCRIPTION OF  PERSONS — POPULAR  DESCRIPTIONS  OF 
ANIMALS,  PLANTS,  AND  FLOWERS. 

Three  Types  of  Description.  —  Description  as  a  ver- 
bal expression  may  be  considered  under  three  distinct 
types ;  in  practice,  however,  each  type  frequently  com- 
bines with  the  others. 

The  first  and  most  important  of  these  seeks  to  bring 
before  the  mind  of  another  a  picture  of  the  object  or 
person  described.  Under  this  head  fall  the  descriptions 
that  occur  in  ordinary  conversation  and  in  ordinary 
writing;  these  are  good  or  bad,  according  to  the  vivid- 
ness of  the  impression  which  they  produce  upon  the 
mind  of  another. 


Our  camping-place  was  worthy  of  its  view.  On  the  bank, 
high  and  dry,  a  noble  birch  had  been  strong  enough  to 
thrust  back  the  forest,  making  a  glade  for  its  own  private 
abode.  Other  travellers  had  already  been  received  into  this 
natural  pavilion.  We  had  had  predecessors,  and  they  had 
built  them  a  hut,  a  half  roof  of  hemlock  bark,  resting  on  a 
frame.  Time  had  developed  the  wrinkles  in  this  covering 
into  cracks,  and  cracks  only  wait  to  be  leaks. 

76 


TYPES   OF  DESCRIPTION.  77 

First  then  we  must  mend  our  mansion.  Material  was  at 
hand ;  hemlocks,  with  a  back-load  of  bark,  stood  ready  to 
be  disburdened.  In  August  they  have  worn  their  garment 
so  long  that  they  yield  it  unwillingly.  Cancut's  axe,  how- 
ever, was  insinuating,  not  to  say  peremptory.  He  peeled  off 
and  brought  great  scales  of  purple  roofing,  and  we  disposed 
of  them  according  to  the  laws  of  forest  architecture. 

— Winthrop  :  Life  in  the  Open  Air. 

The  second  type  is  illustrated  in  any  enumeration  of 
particulars  given  for  the  purpose  of  imparting  informa- 
tion. Examples  of  this  kind  are  the  technical  descrip- 
tions found  in  scientific  treatises  —  the  specifications 
of  an  architect  —  the  exact  wording  of  a  deed  which 
describes  the  property  held  under  its  provisions. 

The  cougar,  Felis  concolor,  is  a  large  concolorous,  feline, 
carnivorous  quadruped  peculiar  to  America,  belonging  to  the 
family  Felidce  and  order  Ferae.  It  is  about  as  large  as  the 
jaguar,  but  it  is  longer-limbed,  and  is  not  so  heavy  in  body. 
A  not  unusual  weight  is  eighty  pounds ;  the  length  over  all 
is  about  eighty  inches,  of  which  the  head  and  body  are  fifty 
inches  and  the  tail  thirty  inches ;  the  standing  height  at  the 
shoulders  twenty-nine  inches,  and  the  girth  of  the  chest 
twenty-seven.  The  color  is  uniformly  tawny,  whitening  on 
the  under  parts.     The  tip  of  the  tail  is  black. 

The  Port  Norfolk  Company,  a  corporation  duly  chartered 
and  organized  under  the  laws  of  Virginia,  doth  grant  with 
general  warranty  unto  the  said  John  J.  Edwards  the  follow- 
ing real  estate,  by  deed  of  sale,  dated  the  29th  day  of  June, 
1901,  and  duly  recorded  in  Deed  Book  No.  250,  page  165, 
and  being  designated  as  No.  523.  Said  lot  numbered  523 
with  the  appurtenances  thereunto  belonging,  being  situated 
on  the  west  side  of  Longstreet  Avenue,  and  fronting  forty 


78  DESCRIPTION. 

feet  on  said  avenue  and  extending  back  with  a  uniform  width 
for  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  forty  feet  to  an  alley. 

—  A  Description  of  Property. 

The  third  type  is  one  whose  purpose  is  to  explain  and 
to  emphasize  certain  essential  aspects  of  an  object  that 
is  present.  An  example  of  this  type  is  the  description 
a  pupil  gives  of  a  figure  that  he  has  constructed  to 
demonstrate  a  proposition  in  Geometry,  or  to  explain 
an  experiment  in  Physics.  A  teacher  uses  this  kind 
of  description  when  aiding  a  pupil  to  comprehend  and 
enjoy  a  picture. 

In  this  picture  of  the  Sistiue  Madonna,  the  Virgin  is  seen 
between  two  green  curtains  drawn  back  on  either  side  of  the 
picture ;  she  stands  on  a  mass  of  clouds  with  the  infant 
Jesus  in  her  arms,  and  looks  out  of  the  picture  with  an 
expression  of  celestial  repose.  A  glory  composed  of  innu- 
merable cherubs'  heads  surrounds  her  on  every  side.  Pope 
Sixtus  in  a  white  tunic  and  gold-colored  pallium  turned  back 
with  purple,  kneels  in  supplication  on  the  left  and  appears 
to  be  pointing  to  his  flock,  which  is  invisible  to  us.  Near 
him,  but  a  little  below,  is  his  tiara.  Opposite,  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Virgin,  kneels  St.  Barbara,  her  hands  folded  on 
her  breast,  looking  down  with  eyes  full  of  love  at  the  faith- 
ful in  adoration  below.  We  also  see  two  small  angels  lean- 
ing on  a  balustrade  which  furnishes  the  lower  part  of  the 
picture.  One  of  them  looks  up  and  the  other  looks  at  the 
spectator,  with  a  charming  expression. 

—  Passavant  :  Raphael  of  Urbino. 

First  Type  of  Description. — The  first  type  of  descrip- 
tion holds  the  largest  place  in  literature  ;  hence  it 
requires  special  consideration. 

The  field  of  this  kind  of  description  is  very  broad  ; 


THE  POINT   OF   VIEW.  79 

it  includes  not  only  things  material,  such  as  places, 
persons,  objects,  but  things  immaterial  as  well,  — 
thoughts,  feelings,  emotions.  Whatever  the  human 
mind  can  definitely  conceive  may  be  appropriately  de- 
scribed. 

The  Point  of  View.  —  In  describing  anything  that  is 
apparent  to  the  senses,  the  actual  position  or  point  of 
view  of  the  one  describing  is  of  the  utmost  importance. 
This  should  be  definitely  located  and  its  limitations 
regarded.  An  observer  should  describe  just  what  he 
sees  ;  a  listener,  just  what  he  hears. 

The  point  of  view  may  be  a  changing  one  ;  in  which 
case  the  fact  should  be  stated,  so  that  the  description 
will  be  understood.  Observations  gained  from  a  defi- 
nite point  of  view  may  be  enriched  and  enlarged  by 
additional  knowledge  possessed  by  the  observer. 

EXERCISE. 

Locate  the  observer  in  the  following  descriptions,  and  decide 
whether  his  point  of  view  is  fixed  or  changing  :  — 

And  now  a  solid  gray  wall  of  rain 
Shuts  off  the  landscape,  mile  by  mile ; 

For  a  breath's  space  I  see  the  blue  wood  again, 
And  ere  the  next  heart-beat,  the  wind-hurled  pile, 
That  seemed  but  now  a  league  aloof, 
Bursts  crackling  o'er  the  sun-parched  roof  ; 
Against  the  windows  the  storm  comes  dashing, 
Through  tattered  foliage  the  hail  tears  crashing, 
The  blue  lightning  flashes, 
The  rapid  hail  clashes, 
The  white  waves  are  tumbling, 
And,  in  one  baffled  roar, 


80  DESCRIPTION. 

Like  the  toothless  sea  mumbling 

A  rock-bristled  shore, 
The  thunder  is  rumbling 
And  crashing  and  crumbling, — 

Will  silence  return  nevermore  ? 

—  Lowell  :  Summer  Storm. 

In  the  gray  of  the  dawn,  after  the  sorrows  of  the  rolling 
night,  we  came  into  a  long  stretch  of  level  water,  such  as  the 
tourist  so  often  finds  in  the  inland  passage  from  Seattle  to 
Sitka. 

My  cabin  window  showed  me  the  green  islands  dotting 
the  blue  water  as  far  as  the  eye  could  see,  and  not  more 
than  fifty  yards  from  our  little  steamer,  sporting  with  the 
fearless  abandon  of  all  young  creatures,  were  five  little 
whales  at  play.  They  seemed  to  be  having  a  game  of  tag ; 
up  and  down,  in  and  out,  over  and  under  and  round  about 
they  gambolled ;  and  the  game  was  enlivened  by  a  good  deal 
of  baby  spouting  and  much  flapping  of  tails.  They  swam 
alongside  for  fully  ten  minutes,  until,  startled  by  a  noise  on 
deck,  they  disappeared  from  sight.  We  bade  them  good-by 
with  real  regret,  feeling  that  we  should  never  see  their  like 
again.  —  A  Trip  to  Alaska. 

Describe  accurately  what  you  can  see  by  looking  out  of  a 
window  —  by  looking  out  of  the  door  —  just  what  you  hear  in  the 
room. 

Walk  around  your  school-room,  and  describe  what  you  see  from 
the  different  windows,  stating  your  point  of  view. 

Walk  a  block  on  the  street  and  describe  what  you  have 
seen,  in  proper  sequence. 

Carefully  regard  the  limitations  of  your  point  of  view  in  de- 
scribing :  — 

Your  school  building  from  three  different  positions  :    at  a 
distance  —  near  at  hand  —  and  as  you  open  the  front  door. 


ENLARGED  DESCRIPTION.  81 

A  hill  or  mountain  :  at  morning  —  at  noon  —  at  night. 

An  elm  tree:  near  at  hand  —  and  far  enough  away  to  be 

outlined  against  the  sky. 
A  body  of  water  :  from  the  shore  —  at  a  distance. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  EFFECTIVE  DESCRIPTION. 

An  effective  description  often  names  first  that  which 
meets  the  eye  first.  In  order  to  find  out  just  what  that  is, 
select  what  you  intend  to  describe,  close  your  eyes,  open 
them  for  an  appreciable  moment  only,  close  them  again,  and 
afterward  consider  what  you  saw  in  that  one  moment. 

Remember  that  distance  cuts  out  details. 

Be  true  to  what  you  see ;  do  not  deceive  yourself. 

Enlarged  Description.  —  The  record  of  an  observer  is 
often  enriched  by  facts  which  have  been  previously 
acquired.  The  distinction  between  an  exact  descrip- 
tion and  an  enlarged  description  is  very  great.  Many 
people  think  that  they  are  giving  exact  descriptions 
when  they  are  really  giving  descriptions  which  are 
modified  by  previous  knowledge,  or  enlarged  by  feeling 
and,  in  some  cases,  by  imagination. 

EXERCISE. 

Describe  your  school-room  clock  from  a  fixed  point  of  view,  call- 
ing attention  oidy  to  that  which  you  can  see  and  hear. 

Describe  the  same  clock,  enriching  your  description  with  knowl- 
edge previously  acquired.  This  permits  you  to  relate  history, 
describe  interior  works,  etc. 

Describe  with  some  minuteness  :  — 

A  Maple  Tree. 

Then  enrich  the  description  with  what  you  know  about  its 
autumnal  coloring,  its  sweet  sap,  its  early  blossoms. 


82  DESCRIPTION. 

A  Butterfly. 

Afterward  enlarge  the  description  with  what  you  know  of  the 
life  of  butterflies. 

A  Barn,  exterior  view. 

Then  enlarge  with  a  description  of  what  is  within. 

A  Canary. 

Enrich  the  description  with  the  bird's  habits  and  peculiarities. 

Objective  and  Subjective  Description.  —  Purely  objec- 
tive, matter-of-fact  descriptions  picture  objects  as  they 
really  are.  The  description  of  the  houses  of  San  Fran- 
cisco by  Helen  Hunt  is  an  excellent  example  :  — 

The  houses  were  small,  wooden,  light-colored,  picturesque. 
Hardly  any  two  houses  were  of  the  same  height,  same  style, 
or  tint.  High  steps  ran  up  to  the  front  doors,  and  in  many 
instances,  where  the  house  was  built  very  much  up  hill,  the 
outside  staircase  curved  and  wound,  to  make  the  climb 
easier.  Each  house  had  a  little  yard.  Many  had  small 
square  gardens.  Every  nook  and  cranny  and  corner  that 
could  hold  a  flower  did.  Roses  and  geraniums  and  fuchsias 
all  in  full  bloom,  set,  great  thickets  of  them,  under  stair- 
ways and  behind  gates.  Ivy  geraniums  clambered  all  over 
the  railings  and  flowered  at  every  twist.  —  Bits  of  Travel. 
[By  permission  of  Little,  Brown  &  Co.,  Publishers.] 

When  a  description  is  so  permeated  with  the  thought 
and  emotion  of  the  writer  that  the  object  described  is 
represented  with  characteristics  which  it  does  not  possess, 
the  description  is  called  subjective.     For  example  :  — 

Where  the  sea-waves  back  and  forward,  hoarse  with  rolling 

pebbles  ran, 
The  garrison-house  stood  watching   on   the  gray  rocks  of 

Cape  Ann —  Whittier  :   TJie  Garrison  of  Cape  Ann. 


METHODS   OF  DESCRIBING.  83 

And  a  breezy,  goose-skinned,  blue-nosed,  red-eyed,  stony- 
toed,  tooth-chattering  place  it  was  to  wait  in,  in  winter  time, 
as  Toby  Veck  well  knew. 

—  Dickens  :   The  Chimes,  First  Quarter. 

EXERCISE. 

Point  out  the  objective  and  the  subjective  descriptions  in  the 
following  selections :  — 

The  delicate  shells  lay  on  the  shore; 
The  bubbles  of  the  latest  wave 
Fresh  pearls  to  their  enamel  gave; 
And  the  bellowing  of  the  savage  sea 
Greeted  their  escape  to  me. 

—  Emerson:  Each  and  All. 

Now  leaps  the  wind  on  the  sleepy  marsh, 

And  tramples  the  grass  with  terrified  feet. 

The  startled  river  turns  leaden  and  harsh, 

You  can  hear  the  quick  heart  of  the  tempest  beat. 

—  Lowell  :  Summer  Storm. 

O'er  the  bare  woods,  whose  outstretched  hands 
Plead  with  the  leaden  heavens  in  vain, 
I  see,  beyond  the  valley  lands, 
The  sea's  long  level  dim  with  rain. 
Around  me  all  things,  stark  and  dumb, 
Seem  praying  for  the  snows  to  come. 

—  Whittier  :   The  Last  Walk  in  Autumn. 

Methods  of  Describing. — The  method  by  which  we 
portray  in  words  the  qualities  or  features  of  anything 
so  as  to  produce  a  picture  in  the  mind  of  another  varies 
with  the  writer,  the  reader,  the  object  described,  and 
the  purpose  of  the  description.  The  following  exam- 
ples will  illustrate  a  few  of  the  different  methods. 


84  DESCRIPTION. 

A  general  description  is  sometimes  given  first  and 
details  are  added. 

Whoever  lias  made  a  voyage  up  the  Hudson  must  re- 
member the  Kaatskill  mountains.  They  are  a  dismembered 
branch  of  the  great  Appalachian  family,  and  are  seen  away 
to  the  west  of  the  river,  swelling  up  to  a  noble  height,  and 
lording  it  over  the  surrounding  country.  Every  change  of 
season,  every  change  of  weather,  indeed,  every  hour  of  the 
day,  produces  some  change  in  the  magical  hues  and  shapes 
of  these  mountains,  and  they  are  regarded  by  all  the  good 
wives,  far  and  near,  as  perfect  barometers.  When  the 
weather  is  fair  and  settled,  they  are  clothed  in  blue  and 
purple,  and  print  their  bold  outlines  on  the  clear  evening 
sky;  but,  sometimes,  when  the  rest  of  the  landscape  is 
cloudless,  they  will  gather  a  hood  of  gray  vapors  about 
their  summits,  which,  in  the  last  rays  of  the  setting  sun, 
will  glow  and  light  up  like  a  crown  of  glory. 

—  Irving  :  Rip  Van  Winkle. 

The  details  may  be  given  first ;  then  a  general  de- 
scription, or  a  general  summary,  may  be  added. 

The  drift  was  becoming  prodigiously  deep;  landmarks 
were  getting  snowed  out;  the  road  and  the  fields  were  all 
one;  instead  of  having  fences  and  hedgerows  to  guide  us  we 
went  crunching  on,  over  an  unbroken  surface  of  ghastly 
white  that  might  sink  beneath  us  at  any  moment  and  drop 
us  down  a  whole  hillside.  Still,  the  coachman  and  guard  — 
who  kept  together  on  the  box,  always  in  council,  and  look- 
ing well  about  them  —  made  out  the  track  with  astonishing 
sagacity. 

When  we  came  in  sight  of  a  town  it  looked  to  my  fancy 
like  a  large  drawing  on  a  slate,  with  abundance  of  slate- 
pencil  expended  on  the  churches  and  houses  where  the  snow 


METHODS   OF  DESCRIBING.  85 

lay  thickest.  When  we  came  within  a  town,  and  found  the 
church  clocks  all  stopped,  the  dial-faces  choked  with  snow, 
and  the  inn-signs  blotted  out,  it  seemed  as  if  the  whole 
place  were  overgrown  with  white  moss.  As  to  the  coach  it 
was  a  mere  snowball;  similarly,  the  men  and  boys  who  ran 
along  beside  us  to  the  town's  end,  turning  our  clogged 
wheels  and  encouraging  our  horses,  were  men  and  boys  of 
snow;  and  the  bleak  wild  solitude  to  which  they  at  last 
dismissed  us,  was  a  snowy  Sahara.  One  would  have  thought 
this  enough ;  notwithstanding  which,  I  pledge  word  that  it 
snowed  and  snowed,  and  still  it  snowed,  and  never  left  off 
snowing. — Dickens:   The   Holly-tree  Inn. 

So  farre,  so  fast,  the  eygre  drave 
The  heart  had  hardly  time  to  beat 

Before  a  shallow  seething  wave 
Sobbed  in  the  grasses  at  oure  feet ; 

The  feet  had  hardly  time  to  flee 

Before  it  brake  against  the  knee 

And  all  the  world  was  in  the  sea. 
—  Jean  Ingelow  :  High  Tide  on  the  Coast  of  Lincolnshire. 

Details  of  color,  sound,  and  motion  are  the  principal 
means  of  making  a  description  vivid.  In  the  following 
example,  the  topic  of  the  paragraph,  "  A  Carpenter's 
Shop,"  does  not  appear,  as  it  was  given  at  the  end  of 
the  paragraph  immediately  preceding. 

The  afternoon  sun  was  warm  on  the  five  workmen  there, 
busy  upon  doors  and  window-panes  and  wainscoting.  A 
scent  of  pine  wood  from  a  tent-like  pile  of  planks  outside 
the  open  door  mingled  itself  with  the  scent  of  the  elder- 
bushes  which  were  spreading  their  summer  snow  close  to 
the  open  window  opposite ;  the  slanting  sunbeams  shone 
through    the    transparent    shavings   that   flew   before   the 


86  DESCRIPTION. 

steady  plane,  and  lit  up  the  fine  grain  of  the  oak  panelling 
which  stood  propped  against  the  wall.  On  a  heap  of  those 
soft  shavings  a  rough  gray  shepherd-dog  had  made  himself 
a  pleasant  bed,  and  was  lying  with  his  nose  between  his 
fore  paws,  occasionally  wrinkling  his  brows  to  cast  a  glance 
at  the  tallest  of  the  five  workmen,  who  was  carving  a  shield 
in  the  centre  of  a  wooden  mantelpiece.  It  was  to  this 
workman  that  the  strong  baritone  belonged  which  was  heard 
above  the  sound  of  plane  and  hammer,  singing :  — 

Awake,  my  soul,  and  with  the  sun 
Thy  daily  stage  of  duty  run  ; 
Shake  off  dull  sloth  — 

Here  some  measurement  was  to  be  taken  which  required 
more  concentrated  attention,  and  the  sonorous  voice  sub- 
sided into  a  low  whistle ;  but  it  presently  broke  out  again 
with  renewed  vigor :  — 

Let  all  thy  converse  be  sincere, 

Thy  conscience  as  the  noonday  clear. 

Such  a  voice  could  only  come  from  a  broad  chest,  and  the 
broad  chest  belonged  to  a  long-boned,  muscular  man,  nearly 
six  feet  high,  with  a  back  so  flat  and  a  head  so  well  poised, 
that  when  he  drew  himself  up  to  take  a  more  distant  survey 
of  his  work,  he  had  the  air  of  a  soldier  standing  at  ease. 

—  George  Eliot  :  Adam  Bede. 

How  to  write  a  Descriptive  Paragraph.  —  First  of  all, 
determine  what  is  to  be  the  subject  of  your  paragraph. 
You  may  embody  this  in  a  topic  sentence  and  develop 
the  paragraph  from  this  sentence.  If  you  do  not  use  a 
topic  sentence,  the  topic  itself  should  be  so  clearly  in 
mind  that  you  never  lose  sight  of  it.  Before  you  begin, 
have  some  idea  of  what  you  intend  to  put  into  your 
picture.     Consider  whether  you  will  give  details  first 


DESCRIPTIVE   PARAGRAPH. 


87' 


and  so  build  up  the  picture  ;  or  will  give  the  general 
description  and  follow  it  with  detail.  Study  whether 
or  not  you  can  avail  yourself  of  sound,  color,  or  motion 
in  your  picture.  See  if  figures  of  comparison  will  help 
you.  Write  each  sentence  in  the  best  and  most  effec- 
tive form  of  words  at  your  command. 


EXERCISE. 

Write  descriptive  paragraphs  emphasizing  sound  :  — 

A  Bird  Store. 

A  Library. 

The  Playground. 


A  City  Street. 
The  Woods. 
The  Seashore. 


Emphasizing  motion :  — 

A  City  Street. 
A  Wind  Storm. 


Emphasizing  color :  — 

A  Sunset. 

The  Horizon  Line  on  a  Winter  Day. 

A  Moonlight  Night. 

High  Noon  in  Summer. 

Using  details  of  any  kind  :  — 

A  Court-house. 

A  Private  Dwelling. 

A  Reception  Hall. 

A  Dining  Room. 

A  Bit  of  Natural  Scenery. 


A  Foot-ball  Field. 
A  Railway  Train. 


The  Lake  at  Night. 
The  Park  in  Autumn. 
A  Blast  Furnace. 
A  Building  on  Fire. 


A  Church. 

A  Library. 

A  Brook. 

A  Corner  of  a  Park. 

Your  Own  Street. 


Describe  any  object  of  your  own  selection,  in  any  way  that  will 
be  effective. 


88  DESCRIPTION. 

SUGGESTION  FOR  CAREFUL  DESCRIPTION. 

The  smallest  thing  has  in  it  a  grain  of  the  unknown. 
Discover  it.  In  order  to  describe  a  fire  that  flames  or  a  tree 
on  the  plain,  we  must  remain  face  to  face  with  that  fire  or 
that  tree  until  for  us  they  no  longer  resemble  any  other  tree 
or  any  other  fire.     This  is  the  way  to  become  original. 

—  Gut  de  Maupassant. 

Description  of  a  Person.  —  A  description  of  an  individ- 
ual may  be  simply  outward  and  personal,  with  more  or 
less  of  detail  ;  may  especially  dwell  upon  mental  traits  ; 
may  be  built  up  by  mentioning  what  he  does  or  what 
he  says  ,  may  be  emphasized  by  comparison  with  others  ; 
may  be  suggested  by  epithets  ;  or  may  combine  several 
or  all  of  these  methods. 

EXERCISE. 
Point  out  the  method  of  description  in  the  following  examples  :  — 

And  in  did  come  the  strangest  figure. 
His  queer  long  coat  from  heel  to  head 
Was  half  of  yellow  and  half  of  red ; 
And  he  himself  was  tall  and  thin, 
With  sharp  blue  eyes,  each  like  a  pin, 
And  light,  loose  hair,  yet  swarthy  skin, 
No  tuft  on  cheek,  nor  beard  on  chin, 
But  lips  where  smiles  went  out  and  in. 

—  Robert  Browning  :  Pied  Piper  of  Hamelin. 

I  saw  my  father's  face 
Grow  long  and  troubled  like  a  rising  moon, 
Inflamed  with  wrath :  he  started  on  his  feet, 
Tore  the  king's  letter,  snow'd  it  down,  and  rent 
The  wonder  of  the  loom  thro'  warp  and  woof 


DESCRIPTIONS   OF  ANIMALS  AND  PLANTS.       89 

From  skirt  to  skirt :  and  at  the  last  he  swore 
That  he  would  send  a  hundred  thousand  men, 
And  bring  her  in  a  whirlwind. 

—  Tennyson  :  The  Princess. 

Splendor  and  pleasure  were  with  Elizabeth  the  very  air 
she  breathed.  Her  delight  was  to  move  in  perpetual  prog- 
resses from  castle  to  castle  through  a  series  of  gorgeous 
pageants,  fanciful  and  extravagant  as  a  Caliph's  dream. 
She  loved  gayety  and  laughter  and  wit.  A  happy  retort  or 
a  finished  compliment  never  failed  to  win  her  favor.  She 
hoarded  jewels.  Her  dresses  were  innumerable.  Her 
vanity  remained,  even  to  old  age,  the  vanity  of  a  coquette  in 
her  teens.  No  adulation  was  too  fulsome  for  her,  no  flattery 
of  her  beauty  too  gross. 

—  Green  :  Short  History  of  the  English  People. 

In  came  Mrs.  Fezziwig,  one  vast,  substantial  smile. 

—  Dickens  :  Christmas  Carol. 

Write  a  brief  description  of  one  of  the  persons  mentioned  in  this 
list,  emphasizing  one  distinctive  characteristic. 

Silas  Maimer,  emphasizing  personal  appearance. 
Benjamin  Franklin,  emphasizing  his  achievements. 
Sir  Eoger  de  Coverley,  emphasizing  his  daily  life. 
Ivanhoe,  emphasizing  personal  appearance. 
Lincoln  —  compare  with  Washington. 

Popular  Descriptions  of  Animals  and  Plants.  —  Popular 

descriptions  of  animals,  plants,  and  flowers  to  be  effec- 
tive must  be  sympathetic  and  imaginative.  Technical 
descriptions  should  be  exact  and  may  be  permitted,  to 
be  monotonous  ;  but  a  description  which  is  a  picture 
must  be  touched  with  life  and  sympathy. 

The  description  of  animals  may  be  made  very  nearly 
along  the  same  lines  as  the  descriptions  of  persons. 


90  DESCRIPTION. 

EXERCISE. 

Point  out  the  method  of  description  in  the  following  examples  :  — 

He  clasps  the  crag  with  hooked  hands : 
Close  to  the  sun  in  lonely  lands, 
Ringed  with  the  azure  world  he  stands. 
The  wrinkled  sea  beneath  him  crawls, 
He  watches  from  his  mountain  walls, 
And  like  a  thunderbolt  he  falls. 

—  Tennyson  :   Tlie  Eagle. 

In  the  dandelion,  each  tiny  flower  has  an  open  strap- 
shaped  corolla,  united  below  into  a  tube  ;  five  stamens  whose 
anthers  have  grown  together,  and  a  pistil  with  a  divided 
style.  There  are  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred 
separate  flowers  in  each  dandelion  head,  and  as  each  one 
ripens  a  seed  with  a  balloon  attachment,  we  need  not  wonder 
that  the  plant  is  a  weed.  In  sheltered  places  during  open 
winters  the  blossoms  can  be  found  in  December  and  January. 
The  leaves  form  a  very  pretty  rosette  upon  the  ground ;  the 
blossom  opens  on  a  short  stem,  but  as  it  fades  and  the  seeds 
begin  to  mature  the  stem  lying  along  the  ground  lengthens  ; 
and  when  the  globe  of  seeds  is  ready  to  expand,  it  rises  and 
bears  them  erect  into  the  air  and  sunshine. 

The  involucre  of  the  dandelion  gives  one  of  the  best 
examples  of  what  might  be  called  plant  instinct,  if  such 
a  term  were  permitted.  It  is  the  most  knowing  involucre 
of  my  acquaintance.  In  the  bud,  tightly  wrapped  about  the 
little  family  of  flowers,  it  protects  them  as  if  it  were  a  calyx. 
When  the  blossom  expands,  the  bracts  open  and  turn  back 
just  far  enough  to  make  a  shallow  cup  to  contain  the  flowers. 
Then  after  these  have  faded,  the  involucre  closes  a  second 
time,  to  protect  the  ripening  seeds.  Finally,  when  the  last 
act  in  the  life  drama  is  ready  and  the  stem  is  about  to  lift 
the  fairy  seed-globe  into  the  air,  the  involucre  folds  itself 


DESCRIPTIONS   OF  ANIMALS  AND  PLANTS.       91 

back  out  of  the  way  and  leaves  each  little  seed  free  to  fly 
with  its  own  parachute  wherever  the  wind  may  carry  it. 

—  TJie  Dandelion. 

I  wish  you  could  have  seen  him.  There  are  no  such  dogs 
now.  He  belonged  to  a  lost  tribe.  As  I  have  said,  he  was 
brindled  and  gray  like  granite;  his  hair  short,  hard,  and 
close,  like  a  lion's ;  his  body  thick-set,  like  a  little  bull,  — 
a  sort  of  compressed  Hercules  of  a  dog.  He  must  have  been 
ninety  pounds'  weight,  at  the  least ;  he  had  a  large,  blunt 
head;  his  muzzle  black  as  night,  his  mouth  blacker  than 
any  night,  a  tooth  or  two  —  being  all  he  had  —  gleaming 
out  of  his  jaws  of  darkness.  .  .  .  Rab  had  the  dignity  and 
simplicity  of  great  size;  and  having  fought  his  way  along 
the  road  to  absolute  supremacy,  he  was  as  mighty  in  his  own 
line  as  Julius  Caesar,  or  the  Duke  of  Wellington. 

—  Brown  :  Bab  and  His  Friends. 

Read  one  or  more  of  the  books  named  :  — 

Wild  Animals  I  Have  Known.  —  Thompson-Seton. 

Bob,  Son  of  Battle. —  Ollivant. 

A  Little  Brother  to  the  Bear.  —  Long. 

Nature  Study  and  Life.  —  Hodge. 

Little  Brothers  of  the  Air.  —  Miller. 

Describe  in  a  popular  and  sympathetic  way :  — 

Any  Pet  Animal :  Pony,  Dog,  Cat,  Canary,  Chicken,  etc. 
Any    Wild   Creature  whose   acquaintance   you  .have   been 

fortunate  enough  to  make. 
The  Trees  of  your  yard  or  neighborhood. 
Any  Tree  distinguished  for  size  or  beauty. 
Any  group  of  Plants,  or  any  Flowers  which  interest  you. 

Select  a  dandelion  bud  ;  tie  a  string  loosely  about  the  stem  to 
mark  it.     Observe  and  record  the  daily  changes  for  ten  days. 


92  DESCRIPTION. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  DESCRIPTIVE  WRITING. 

The  essential  thing  in  a  description  is  to  convey  to  the 
mind  of  another  the  impression  that  you  have  yourself 
received. 

Never  lose  sight  of  your  physical  point  of  view  or  your 
mental  point  of  view  ;  know  definitely  whether  your  descrip- 
tion is  objective  or  subjective. 

Do  not  enumerate  particulars  to  the  point  of  wearying 
your  readers. 

An  oral  description  should  be  brief  and  every  word  should 
count. 

Never  forget  that  the  best  description  is  the  one  which 
most  excites  the  imagination  of  your  reader.  The  best  that 
words  can  do  is  to  give  an  imperfect  picture,  but  if  at  the 
same  time  they  rouse  the  imagination  of  the  reader  to 
complete  the  picture  for  himself,  they  accomplish  all  that 
can  be  expected. 

EXERCISE  IN  DESCRIPTION  —  LITERARY  SUBJECTS. 

[These  subjects  are  selected  from  Marmion,  Silas  Marner,  Ivanhoe, 
Julius  Ccesar,  The  Merchant  of  Venice,  and  The  Princess.'] 

State  the  time,  place,  and  conditions  at  the  opening  of  Marmion ; 
of  Julius  Ccesar ;  of  Ivanhoe. 

In  one  paragraph  describe  the  personal  appearance,  and  in  a 
second  paragraph  characterize  the  individual :  — 

King  James. 
Marmion. 
Godfrey  Cass. 
Silas  Marner. 

Describe  a  picture  which  you  would  order  painted,  contrasting 
the  characters  of  either  of  the  following  groups.  Let  the  second 
paragraph  begin  with  the  expression,  "  On  the  contrary." 

Rebecca  and  Rowena. 
Brutus  and  Cassius. 


EXERCISE  IN  DESCRIPTION.  93 

If  you  had  the  power  to  paint  a  picture,  how  would  you  illus- 
trate Tennyson's  Bugle  Song? 

Make  a  vivid  word  picture  of  one  of  the  following  scenes :  — 

The  Burning  of  Torquilstone. 

A  Pilgrimage  of  the  Twelfth  Century. 

The  Assassination  of  Caesar. 

Antony's  Funeral  Oration. 

Portia  in  the  Court  Scene. 

Picture  with  one  hundred  words  the  scene  suggested  by  one  of 
the  following  quotations  :  — 

The  Ides  of  March  are  come. 

What  news  on  the  Rialto  ? 

And  Raveloe  was  a  village  where  many  of  the  old  echoes 
lingered,  undrowned  by  new  voices. 

With  two   paragraphs,  in  strong  contrast,  present   one  of   the 
following  subjects :  — 

Portia,  a  Lady  ;  and  Portia,  a  Lawyer. 

Bassanio's  Success  at  the  Caskets ;    and  his  Distress  in 

the  Court-room. 
Silas  Maimer  at  the  Beginning  and  End  of  the  Story. 
Eppie,  a  Baby ;  and  Eppie,  a  Bride. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

NAKKATION  AND  DESCRIPTION  COMBINED. 

SCOPE  —  STORY-ARRANGEMENT  AND  DRAMA-ARRANGE- 
MENT —  VARIOUS     WAYS     OP     BEGINNING     A     STORY 

—  HOW   TO    WRITE    A   STORY    FOR   A    SCHOOL   PAPER 

—  HOW  TO  WRITE  A  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH — THE 
STUDY  OF  HISTORY  AS  AN  EXERCISE  IN  NARRATION 
AND    DESCRIPTION   COMBINED. 

The  Scope   of   Narration  and  Description  Combined.  — 

The  artistic  combination  of  narration  and  description 
enriches  conversation  and  adds  to  literature  some  of 
its  most  pleasing  kinds  of  composition.  In  ordinary 
conversation  we  are  constantly  uniting  the  two  forms, 
for  interest  is  aroused  not  only  in  events,  but  in  the 
scenes  and  actors  during  the  progress  of  events.  In 
literature,  the  two  kinds  of  composition  are  closely 
interwoven  :  in  prose,  the  skilful  intermixture  of  nar- 
ration and  description  creates  the  interest  that  radiates 
from  history,  from  biography,  from  short  story,  from 
novel,  and  from  romance  ;  in  poetry,  narration  and  de- 
scription harmoniously  blended  produce  the  charm  of 
epic,  of  dramatic,  of  idyllic,  and  sometimes  of  lyric 
verse. 

The  Relative  Amount  of  Narration  and  Description.  — 
A  guiding  principle  for  regulating  the  relative  amount 
of  narration  and  of  description  in  a  composition  is  fur- 

94 


APPROPRIATENESS   OF  LANGUAGE.  95 

nished  as  soon  as  the  author  has  determined  upon  the 
purpose  of  his  sketch.  If  he  wishes  to  emphasize  the 
part  character  has  to  play,  narration  becomes  secondary, 
serving  only  to  illustrate  by  incident.  If  in  his  mind, 
however,  events  are  of  chief  importance,  description 
should  enrich  without  impeding  the  action.  The  old- 
fashioned  novelists  were  inclined  to  give  extended 
descriptions  in  masses,  thus  interrupting  the  flow  of  the 
story.  Modern  writers  introduce  the  descriptions  in 
short  paragraphs  and  even  in  single  sentences,  so  that 
the  action  is  not  retarded. 

Appropriateness  of  Language  Indispensable.  —  The  use 

of  language  appropriate  to  the  character  of  the  narra- 
tive is.  important.  Each  of  the  various  literary  forms 
has  what  might  be  called  its  own  literary  pitch,  or 
tone.  The  epic  is  elevated  and  often  even  sublime  in 
expression,  as  befits  the  bearing  of  "  cloud-compelling 
gods  "  and  mighty  heroes  ;  the  drama  is  nobly  eloquent, 
for  it  deals  with  stately  personages ;  the  idyll  or  pasto- 
ral poem  is  simple  in  its  language,  in  harmony  with 
the  life  of  shepherds ;  the  lyric  is  musical,  as  be- 
comes the  song.  History  is  dignified  and  serious  in 
tone,  for  it  aims  to  recount  faithfully  the  events  in  the 
lives  of  nations,  communities,  or  their  rulers  ;  biogra- 
phy, like  history,  is  dignified,  but  may  be  somewhat 
more  familiar  in  tone,  for  it  presents  the  lives  of  indi- 
viduals; romance,  suggesting  as  it  does  the  improba- 
ble, is  often  dreamy  and  almost  poetic  in  expression ; 
while  the  novel,  on  the  lowest  plane  of  all,  reflects  every- 
day life  in  the  natural  and  easy  language  of  ordinary 
conversation. 


96       NARRATION  AND  DESCRIPTION  COMBINED. 

Distinctive  Requirements  for  a  Narrator  of  Fact  and  a 
Narrator  of  Fancy.  —  In  arranging  his  material,  the  nar- 
rator of  fact  does  not  have  the  same  problem  as  the  nar- 
rator of  fancy.  In  writing  history  the  writer  first  selects 
his  subject  because  of  his  interest  in  it ;  he  then  gath- 
ers his  facts  and  must  reject  all  that  do  not  cause  or 
affect  the  situation ;  invariably  he  must  try  to  relate 
the  story  without  bias,  because  his  business  is  to  tell 
the  truth.  The  narrator  of  romance,  on  the  other 
hand,  may  invent  to  suit  his  fancy ;  the  one  demand 
made  of  him  is  that  he  must  make  his  story  consistent 
and  interesting. 

Elements  of  Combined  Narration  and  Description.  —  The 

elements  of  combined  narration  and  description  are 
Plot,  Characters,  Setting,  and  Purpose.  When  we  con- 
sider the  endless  variety  of  stories  that  fiction  has  to 
offer,  we  do  not  realize  that  every  narrative  may  be 
reduced  to  these  four  component  parts.  A  little  study 
of  the  story  will  suggest  some  of  the  ways  in  which 
these  parts  may  be  delicately  interwoven. 

Plot.  — To  find  a  plot  is  the  story-teller's  first  business; 
his  art  is  to  arrange  the  incidents.  The  pages  of  his- 
tory and  the  scenes  of  the  world  about  him  furnish  his 
imagination  with  inexhaustible  material.  Once  pos- 
sessed of  his  plot,  he  must, set  about  rejecting  super- 
fluous incidents,  so  that  the  best  part  of  his  story  will 
stand  out  in  well-defined  outlines. 

Consciously  or  unconsciously,  he  must  lay  his  plans 
before  he  begins  to  build,  or  his  work  will  be  clumsy  in 
construction,  like  a  rambling    house,  where  one  must 


ARRANGEMENT   OF  PLOT.  97 

pass  through  long,  cheerless  halls  that  intrude  themselves 
between  pleasant  rooms.  The  constructions  of  the 
world's  masterpieces  in  the  art  of  story-telling  are  gen- 
erally simple.  The  artistic  arrangement  of  even  a  few 
incidents  will  make  an  impressive  story.  But  authors 
differ  greatly  as  to  the  amount  of  material  which  they 
require  for  a  plot.  With  only  seven  characters,  Haw- 
thorne constructed  the  story  of  The  House  of  the  Seven 
Gables,  whereas  Dickens  used  at  least  seventy-five  to 
develop  the  plot  in  the  story  of  David  Cojjperfield. 

Story-arrangement  and  Drama-arrangement  of  Plot For 

the  main  movement  of  plot  there  are  two  typical  modes 
of  arrangement :  the  story-arrangement  and  the  drama- 
arrangement.  In  the  story  the  action  has  its  climax  at 
the  end  ;  up  to  the  climax  the  story  is  unfolded  ;  after 
the  climax  it  is  merely  indicated.  The  old  ending,  "  So 
they  lived  happily  ever  after,"  showed  plainly  that  the 
author  considered  himself  through  with  his  characters. 

In  the  drama-arrangement  the  climax  ordinarily  comes 
in  the  middle  of  the  action;  this  gives  us  an  opportu- 
nity to  see  what  becomes  of  the  actors  afterward.  From 
the  very  opening  of  the  drama  there  is  a  succession  of 
incidents  leading  up  to  the  climax,  then  the  climax,  then 
a  succession  of  incidents  ensuing  upon  it,  and  at  the  end 
the  final  result.  In  the  play  of  Macbeth,  for  example, 
the  climax  comes  at  the  point  where  Fleance  escapes. 
Here  Macbeth  has  reached  the  high  tide  of  success  ; 
after  this  event,  his  fortune  rapidly  ebbs. 

In  a  story,  the  climax  either  suggests  the  conclusion 
or  is  itself  the  conclusion  ;  in  the  drama,  the  conclu- 
sion follows  the  climax  after  due  time  ;   in  tragedy,  the 


98      NARRATION  AND    DESCRIPTION   COMBINED. 

conclusion  works  out  into  catastrophe;  whereas  comedy 
ends  happily. 

There  are,  of  course,  stories  and  dramas  that  do  not 
observe  these  laws,  but  the  arrangement  of  the  story  is 
typically  different  from  that  of  the  drama. 

EXERCISE. 

Relate  or  write  the  main  plot  of  one  or  more  of  the  stories  in  the 
following  list.  Determine  whether  the  plot  is  simple  or  involved; 
whether  it  is  natural  and  easily  possible,  or  quite  improbable.  Give 
what  you  consider  to  be  the  climax  of  the  story,  and  especially 
observe  whether  it  appears  in  the  middle  of  the  story  or  at  the  end. 

Evangeline.  —  Longfellow. 

Comus.  —  Milton. 

Ivanhoe.  —  Scott. 

Silas  Marner.  —  Eliot. 

The  Lady  of  the  Lake.  —  Scott. 

Tlie  Merchant  of  Venice.  —  Shakespeare. 

The  Vision  of  Si?'  Launfal.  —  Lowell. 

The  Rime  of  the  Ancient  Mariner.  —  Coleridge. 

Elaine.  —  Tennyson. 

TJie  House  of  the  Seven  Gables.  —  Hawthorne. 

Macbeth.  —  Shakespeare. 

Purpose.  —  Many  writers  have  used  the  story  as  a 
means  of  directing  attention  to  some  particular  evil  of 
the  age;  others,  as  a  means  of  impressing  some  principle, 
social,  moral,  or  psychological.  Often  novelists  seem 
to  have  no  other  purpose  than  that  of  entertaining,  yet 
the  unfolding  of  plot  and  characters  compels  the  atten- 
tion of  the  reader  to  a  fixed  point  of  view.  A  little 
reflection  may  reveal  to  him  a  central  truth  which 
gives  unity  to  the  story  as  a  whole. 


WAYS   OF  BEGINNING   A    STORY.  99 

Various  Ways  of  Beginning  a  Story.  —  There  is  no  law 
which  requires  the  writer  of  fiction  to  begin  invariably 
at  one  part  of  his  story  rather  than  at  another.  His  is 
a  task  far  different  from  that  of  the  narrator  of  history, 
who  must  be  methodical  in  stating  time,  place,  actors, 
events,  and  issues. 

The  selections  given  below  illustrate  some  of  the  sim- 
ple ways  of  beginning  a  story. 

EXERCISE. 

Examine  each  selection  to  discover  the  order  in  which  the  author 
has  presented  the  elements  of  narration  and  description  combined. 
Do  you  see,  in  each  case,  what  effect  is  produced  on  the  reader  by 
the  order  selected? 

Halfway  down  a  by-street  of  one  of  our  New  England 
towns,  stands  a  rusty  wooden  house,  with  seven  acutely 
peaked  gables,  facing  towards  various  points  of  the  compass, 
and  a  huge,  clustered  chimney  in  the  midst.  The  street  is 
Pyncheon  Street ;  the  house  is  the  old  Pyncheon  house ;  and 
an  elm  tree,  of  wide  circumference,  rooted  before  the  door, 
is  familiar  to  every  town-born  child  by  the  title  of  the  Pyn- 
cheon elm.  On  my  occasional  visits  to  the  town  aforesaid, 
I  seldom  fail  to  turn  down  Pyncheon  Street,  for  the  sake  of 
passing  through  the  shadow  of  these  two  antiquities,  —  the 
great  elm  tree,  and  the  weather-beaten  edifice. 

—  Hawthoene  :  The  House  of  the  Seven  Gables,  Chapter  i. 

If  anybody  cares  to  read  a  simple  tale  told  simply,  I,  John 
Kidd,  of  the  parish  of  Oare,  in  the  county  of  Somerset,  yeo- 
man and  church-warden,  have  seen  and  had  a  share  in  some 
doings  of  this  neighborhood,  which  I  will  try  to  set  down  in 
order,  God  sparing  my  life  and  memory.  And  they  who 
light  upon  this  book  should  bear  in  mind,  not  only  that  I 
write  for  the  clearing  of  our  parish  from  ill-fame  and  cal- 


100      NARRATION  AND   DESCRIPTION    COMBINED. 

umny,  but  also  a  tiling  which  will,  I  trow,  appear  too  often  in 
it,  to  wit  —  that  I  am  nothing  more  than  a  plain  unlettered 
man,  not  read  in  foreign  languages,  as  a  gentleman  might  be, 
nor  gifted  with  long  words  (even  in  mine  own  tongue),  save 
what  I  may  have  won  from  the  Bible,  or  Master  William 
Shakespeare,  whom,  in  the  face  of  common  opinion,  I  do 
value  highly.  In  short,  I  am  an  ignoramus,  but  pretty  well 
for  a  yeoman — Blackmore:  Lorna  Doone,  Chapter  i. 

The  polo-ball  was  an  old  one,  scarred,  chipped,  and  dinted. 
It  stood  on  the  mantelpiece  among  the  pipe-stems  which 
Imam  Din,  Jchitmatgar,  was  cleaning  for  me. 

"  Does  the  Heaven-born  want  this  ball  ?  "  said  Imam  Din, 
deferentially. 

The  Heaven-born  set  no  particular  store  by  it;  but  of 
what  use  was  a  polo-ball  to  a  Jchitmatgar  ? 

"  By  your  Honor's  favor,  I  have  a  little  son.  He  has 
seen  this  ball,  and  desires  it  to  play  with.  I  do  not  want  it 
for  myself." 

No  one  would  for  an  instant  accuse  portly  old  Imam  Din 
of  wanting  to  play  with  polo-balls.  He  carried  out  the 
battered  thing  into  the  veranda ;  and  there  followed  a  hur- 
ricane of  joyful  squeaks,  a  patter  of  small  feet,  and  the 
thud-thud-tJiud  of  the  ball  rolling  along  the  ground.  Evi- 
dently the  little  son  had  been  waiting  outside  the  door  to 
secure  his  treasure.  But  how  had  he  managed  to  see  that 
polo-ball  ? 

Next  clay,  coming  back  from  the  office  half  an  hour  earlier 
than  usual,  I  was  aware  of  a  small  figure  in  the  dining-room. 
It  wandered  round  the  room,  thumb  in  mouth,  crooning  to 
itself  as  it  took  stock  of  the  pictures.  Undoubtedly  this  was 
the  "little  son."— Kipling:   The  Story  of  Muhammad  Din. 

We  had  had  so  many  office  boys  before  Gallegher  came 
among  us  that  they  had  begun  to  lose  the  characteristics  of 


WAYS   OF  BEGINNING  A   STORY.  101 

individuals,  and  became  merged  in  a  composite  photograph 
of  small  boys,  to  whom  we  applied  the  generic  title  of 
"Here,  you";  or,  "You,  boy." 

We  had  had  sleepy  boys,  and  lazy  boys,  and  bright, 
"smart"  boys,  who  became  so  familiar  on  so  short  an  ac- 
quaintance that  we  were  forced  to  part  with  them  to  save 
our  own  self-respect. 

They  generally  graduated  into  district  messenger  boys, 
and  occasionally  returned  to  us  in  blue  coats  with  nickel- 
plated  buttons,  and  patronized  us. 

But  Gallegher  was  something  different  from  anything  we 
had  experienced  before.  Gallegher  was  short  and  broad  in 
build,  with  a  solid,  muscular  broadness,  and  not  a  fat  and 
dumpy  shortness.  He  wore  perpetually  on  his  face  a  happy 
and  knowing  smile,  as  if  you  and  the  world  in  general  were 
not  impressing  him  as  seriously  as  you  thought  you  were, 
and  his  eyes,  which  were  very  black  and  very  bright,  snapped 
intelligently  at  you  like  those  of  a  little  black-and-tan  terrier. 

All  Gallegher  knew  had  been  learned  on  the  streets  ;  not 
a  very  good  school  in  itself,  but  one  that  turns  out  very 
knowing  scholars.  And  Gallegher  had  attended  both  morn- 
ing and  evening  sessions.  He  could  not  tell  you  who  the 
Pilgrim  Fathers  were,  nor  could  he  name  the  thirteen  origi- 
nal States;  but  he  knew  all  the  officers  of  the  twenty-second 
police  district  by  name,  and  he  could  distinguish  the  clang 
of  a  fire-engine's  gong  from  that  of  a  patrol  wagon  or  an 
ambulance  fully  two  blocks  distant. 

— Davis  :  [From  Gallegher  and  Other  Stories,  copyright,  1891, 
by  Charles  Scribner's  Sons.     Used  by  permission.] 

Write  the  beginning  of  a  story  suggested  by  one  of  the  follow- 
ing themes.  Let  it  contain  suggestion  of  setting  and  characters 
only.     Imagine  that  you  are  painting  a  picture  of  the  situation. 

The  Runaway  Train. 
The  Haunted  House. 


102      NARRATION  AND  DESCRIPTION   COMBINED. 

A  Storm  at  Sea. 

A  Street-car  Episode. 

An  Evening  Walk. 

Late  for  School. 

A  Country  Ride  for  Life. 

Off  for  the  Army. 

Make  a  list  of  twenty  verbs  which  may  be  used  in  relating  con- 
versations ;  as,  remarked,  observed,  declared. 

Elaborate  a  conversation  taking  place  in  a  street-car,  which 
shall  suggest  simple  details  in  regard  to  the  speakers;  as,  in  a  low 
tone,  with  a  shrug  of  the  shoulders,  in  astonishment,  or,  ivho  had  been 
thoughtfully  studying  the  face  of  his  companion  for  the  last  few  mo- 
ments. 

PRACTICAL  HINTS. 

Do  not  use  "  and "  too  frequently ;  that  is,  subordinate 
some  of  your  statements  as  temporal  or  concessive  instead 
of  coordinating  them. 

Avoid  unnecessary  changes  of  voice  and  tense.  Let  your 
sketch  illustrate  the  law  of  unity. 

Begin  some  sentences  with  phrases  or  adverbs. 

Do  not  introduce  irrelevant  detail. 

How  to  write  a  Story  for  a  School  Paper.  —  Find  a 
plot  and  setting.  Begin  to  relate  events  as  soon  as 
possible.  Make  the  story  move  evenly,  —  not  by  leaps. 
Work  to  a  climax,  and  then  stop  as  soon  as  conditions 
will  permit. 

EXERCISE. 

Outline  a  plot  of  one  striking  incident  suitable  for  a  story  in  a 
school  journal. 

Give  a  dramatic  historical  sketch  of  some  incident  in  the  Civil 
War  in  the  United  States  —  in  the  Spanish  War — in  the  Russo- 
Japanese  War. 


STORY  FOR  A   SCHOOL   PAPER.  103 

Write  a  theme  on  one  of  the  following  subjects.  Select  your 
own  setting  and  actors. 

The  Story  of  an  Old  House  —  yesterday,  to-day,  and  to- 
morrow. 

The  Story  of  a  Gold  Watch  that  has  been  given  you  by  one 
of  your  Grandparents. 

The  Story  of  a  Tramp  Dog. 

Tell  the  Life  Story  of  one  of  your  Favorite  Aunts  or  Uncles. 

PRACTICAL  HINTS. 

See  that  the  point  of  your  story  does  not  reveal  a  lack  of 
moral  principle. 

Avoid  passive  verbs  in  descriptive  parts. 

Use  the  vivid  present  sparingly.  Reserve  it  for  the 
most  exciting  moments. 

Do  not  be  too  zealous  in  pointing  out  the  moral  of  your 
story. 

Avoid  the  careless  repetition  of  a  word  ;  as,  "  He  went  to 
the  court-house  to  see  if  he  could  see  the  judge." 

See  that  all  participles  and  relatives  refer  definitely  to 
some  word,  and  that  they  stand  as  near  as  possible  to  that 
word. 

You  will  be  more  likely  to  succeed  if  you  leave  to  the 
poets  plots  which  deal  with  romantic  situations. 

How  to  write  a  Biographical  Sketch.  —  Inform  yourself 
thoroughly  in  regard  to  the  person  you  have  selected. 
Form  your  own  opinion  as  to  his  worth.  Collect  your 
data,  and  make  an  outline  of  the  order  in  which  you 
intend  to  present  your  thoughts.  It  is  well  in  writing 
a  short  sketch  to  select  the  principal  event  of  a  person's 
life  as  a  centre  about  which  other  events  may  be 
grouped  ;  this  method  furnishes  a  climax  for  the  narra- 
tive, and  emphasizes  the  chief  service  of  the  person  to 
society. 


104      NARRATION  AND  DESCRIPTION   COMBINED. 

EXERCISE. 

Write  a  biographical  sketch,  selecting  any  one  of  the  following 

subjects:  — 

The  Career  of  Daniel  Webster. 

The  Early  Education  of  Alfred  Tennyson. 

The  Preparation  of  Abraham  Lincoln  for  his  Work. 

The  Career  of  Theodore  Roosevelt. 

The  Boyhood  of  Walter  Scott. 

The  Early  Struggles  of  Samuel  Johnson. 

The  Training  of  the  Young  Napoleon. 

The  First  Fifteen  Years  in  the  Life  of  Robert  Burns. 

The  Education  of  Helen  Keller. 

Early  Experiences  of  Booker  T.  Washington. 

The  Early  Training  of  Queen  Victoria. 

Write  a  short  sketch  of  Oliver  Goldsmith,  based  on  Irving's 
biography. 

Write  very  simply  your  autobiography. 

Write  the  biography  of  your  father  or  of  your  mother. 

Write  a  short  sketch  of  some  author  whom  you  have  studied. 

The  Study  of  History  as  an  Exercise  in  Narration  and 
Description.  — ■  The  daily  recitation  in  history  gives  an 
admirable  opportunity  to  study  and  to  apply  the  under- 
lying principles  of  narrative  discourse.  Here  one  may 
test  the  value  of  description  as  an  aid  to  narration,  at 
the  same  time  that  much  comes  before  the  mind  to 
induce  reflection.  Fortunately,  the  work  is  principally 
oral,  so  that  the  daily  recitation  furnishes  a  daily  exer- 
cise in  training  one  to  use  good  English, — if  one  chooses, 
—  English  with  accuracy  at  one  time  and  with  dash  at 
another.  The  study  of  history  and  the  literary  study 
of  English  here  meet  and  support  each  other.     Further- 


HISTORY  IN  NARRATION  AND  DESCRIPTION.     105 

more,  whether  the  school  text-books  make  it  clear  or 
not,  the  fact  stands  that  every  historical  narrative  con- 
tains the  essential  elements  of  time,  place,  and  circum- 
stance, as  well  as  actors  and  action.  Any  proper 
recitation  of  an  historical  narrative  must  make  these 
elements  perfectly  clear  to  the  listener. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  SUCCESSFUL  RECITATION  IN  HISTORY. 

Always  know  the  time,  place,  and  circumstances  of  any 
event  that  you  study. 

See  that  the  actors  in  the  events  you  relate  are  clearly 
defined  in  your  own  mind.  To  know  that  somebody  did 
something,  somewhere,  at  some  time,  is  of  no  possible  value ; 
the  value  lies  in  knowing  what  was  done,  who  did  it,  and 
where  and  when  it  was  done. 

Make  your  descriptions  pictures,  as  far  as  they  go ;  make 
them  definite,  vivid,  real. 

Use  as  large  a  vocabulary  as  possible  ;  the  text-book  will 
assist  you. 

Do  not  follow  the  text  verbally,  to  the  weakening  of  your 
own  power  of  expression. 

Learn  events,  not  words ;  picture  in  your  mind  the  scene, 
not  the  page  upon  which  the  story  is  written. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

VERSIFICATION. 

TIME-BEAT  OR   METRICAL  ACCENT — STANDARD  FORMS 
OF     METRICAL     FEET  :     IAMBUS,    TROCHEE,    ANAPEST, 

DACTYL  SUBSTITUTE    FEET  VERSE  —  METER 

RHYTHM  —  CJESURAL  PAUSE  —  RHYME  —  ALLITERA- 
TION —  ASSONANCE  —  SONNET  —  CLASSIFICATION  OF 
POETRY:     NARRATIVE,    DRAMATIC,    LYRIC,    IDYLLIC 

If  you  repeat  carefully  the  lines,  — 

The  harp  that  once  through  Tara's  halls 
The  soul  of  music  shed,  — 

you  will  notice  that  you  naturally  place  a  slight  stress 
of  voice  upon  harp,  once,  Tar,  halls,  in  the  first  line  ; 
in  the  second  line  upon  soul,  mus,  and  shed. 

Again,  if  you  repeat  carefully  the  first  two  lines  of 
The  Star-Spangled  Banner,  — 

0  say,  can  you  see,  by  the  dawn's  early  light, 

What  so  proudly  we  hailed  at  the  twilight's  last  gleaming,  — 

you  will  observe  that  in  the  first  line  you  place  a  slight 
stress  of  voice  upon  say,  see,  dawn's,  and  light ;  and  in 
the  second  line  upon  proud,  hailed,  tivi,  and  gleam. 

You  find  that  you  accent  every  second  syllable  in 
one  case,  and,  with  one  exception,  every  third  syllable 
in  the  other.  You  accent  these  syllables  when  you 
read,  not  because  you  have  been  taught  to  do  so,  but 

106 


METRICAL   ACCENT.  107 

because  there  is  something  in  the  very  structure  of  the 
lines  which  makes  you  do  it. 

Time-Beat  or  Metrical  Accent.  —  This  recurring  accent 
is  called  the  time-beat,  or  metrical  accent,  of  the  line. 
When  it  falls  upon  every  second  syllable,  the  verse  is 
written  in  two-part  time ;  when  it  falls  upon  every 
third  syllable,  the  verse  is  in  three-part  time. 

Two-part  time  appears  in  two  forms  :  in  one  the 
accented  syllable  is  the  first  of  the  two-syllabled  group, 
and  in  the  other  it  is  the  second. 

Three-part  time  has  three  forms.  The  accent  falls 
usually  upon  the  first  syllable,  or  upon  the  last,  rarely 
upon  the  middle  syllable,  of  the  three-syllabled  group. 

Such  a  group  of  syllables  is  called  a  metrical  foot,  or  a 
metrical  measure;  "foot"  is  the  ancient  name. 

EXERCISE. 

Determine  the  time-beat  of  the  following  examples  :  — 

The  muffled  drum's  sad  roll  has  beat 

The  soldier's  last  tattoo  ; 
No  more  on  life's  parade  shall  meet 

That  brave  and  fallen  few. 
On  Fame's  eternal  camping  ground 

Their  silent  tents  are  spread, 
And  glory  guards  with  solemn  round 

The  bivouac  of  the  dead. 

—  O'Hara  :   The  Bivouac  of  the  Dead. 

I  am  mdnarch  of  all  I  survey, 
My  right  there  is  none  to  dispute ; 
From  the  centre  all  round  to  the  sea, 
I  am  lord  of  the  fowl  and  the  brute. 

—  Cowper  :  Alexander  Selkirk. 


108  VERSIFICATION. 

Fine  hvimblebee,  fine  bumblebee  ! 
Wbere  tbou  art  is  clime  for  me ; 
Let  them  sail  for  Porto  Rique, 
Far-off  beats  through  seas  to  seek, 
I  will  follow  thee  alone, 
Thou  animated  torrid  zone  ! 
Zigzag  steerer,  desert  cheerer, 
Let  me  chase  thy  waving  lines ; 
Keep  me  nearer,  me  thy  hearer, 
Singing  over  shrubs  and  vines. 

Flower  bells, 

Honeyed  cells : 

These  the  tents 

Which  he  frequents. 

—  Emerson  :   To  the  Humblebee. 

/  / 

Bird  of  the  wilderness, 

Blithesome  and  cumberless, 
Sweet  be  thy  matin  o'er  moorland  and  lea! 

Emblem  of  happiness, 

Blest  is  thy  dwelling-place  — 
Oh,  to  abide  in  the  desert  with  thee  ! 

—  Hogg  :   The  Lark. 

Bring  into  class  poems  written  in  two-part  measure  —  in  three- 
part  measure. 

Determine  whether  the  time-beat  falls  at  the  beginning,  or  at 
the  end,  of  the  foot  in  the  following  examples :  — 

Sir  Launfal's  raiment  thin  and  spare 
Was  idle  mail  'gainst  the  barbed  air, 
For  it  was  just  at  the  Christmas  time. 

—  Lowell  :    The  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal. 

Tell  me  not  in  mournful  numbers, 
Life  is  but  an  empty  dream. 

—  Longfellow:  A  Psalm  of  Life. 


METRICAL   ACCENT.  109 

Just  for  a  handful  of  silver  he  left  us ; 

Just  for  a  riband  to  stick  in  his  coat  — 
Found  the  one  gift  of  which  fortune  bereft  us, 

Lost  all  the  others  she  lets  us  devote. 

—  Robert  Browning  :    The  Lost  Leader. 

The  Assyrian  came  down  like  the  wolf  on  the  fold, 
And  his  cohorts  were  gleaming  in  purple  and  gold; 
And  the  sheen  of  their  spears  was  like  stars  on  the  sea 
When  the  blue  wave  rolls  nightly  on  deep  Galilee. 

—  Byron  :   The  Destruction  of  Sennacherib. 

Note  any  irregularities  in  the  time-beat  of  the  foregoing  exam- 
ples.    Look  for  these  irregularities  at  the  ends  of  the  lines. 

It  is  clear  that  this  measure,  or  foot,  is  the  metrical 
unit  of  a  line  of  poetry.  This  metrical  unit  appears 
in  several  forms,  which  are  distinguished  both  by  the 
number  of  syllables  and  by  the  place  of  the  accented 
syllable  in  the  foot.  These  measures,  or  feet,  still 
retain  their  ancient  names. 

A  foot  of  two  syllables,  the  first  unaccented,  the 
second  accented,  is  an  Iambus.     It  may  be  counted  one- 

two,  and  written  ^  /  • 

The  muf|fled  drum's  |  sad  roll  |  has  beat. 
A  foot  of  two  syllables,  the  first  accented,  the  second 

unaccented,  is  a  Trochee.     It  may  be  counted  one-two, 
and  written   /  w. 

Tell  me  |  not  in  |  mournful  |  numbers. 

It  may  assist  the  memory  to  note  that  the  word 
trochee  is  itself  a  trochaic  foot. 


110  VER  SIFICA  TION. 

A  foot  of  three  syllables,  with  the  accent  falling  upon 
the  last  syllable,  is  an  Anapest.     It   may  be    counted 

one-two-three,  and  written  w  ^  / . 

Like  the  leaves  |  of  the  forjest  when  sum|mer  is  green. 

A  foot  of  three  syllables  with  the  accent  falling  upon 

the  first  syllable  is  a  Dactyl.     It  may  be  counted  one- 
two-three,  and  written  /  \j  \j. 

List  to  the  |  mournful  tra|dition  still  |  sung  by  the  |  pines 
of  the  |  forest. 

A  foot  of  three  syllables,  with   the  second  syllable 

accented,  is  an  Amphibrach.     It  may  be  counted  one- 

/ 
two-three,  and  written  \j  /  ^. 

Creator,  |  preserver,  |  redeemer  |  of  men. 

This  form  so  readily  merges  into  other  forms  that 
it  is  rarely  used  alone. 

Standard  Forms  of  Metrical  Feet.  —  The  four,  Iambus, 
Trochee,  Anapest,  and  Dactyl,  are  the  standard  forms 
of  metrical  feet  in  English  poetry.  In  practice  they 
are  interchangeable,  and  one  may  take  the  place  of 
another  in  any  line  or  in  any  part  of  a  line.  Every 
poem  of  character  in  the  English  language  has  one  of 
these  standard  feet  as  a  prevailing  measure ;  and  its 
regular  lines  contain  this  prevailing  foot  a  definite 
number  of  times.  Still,  the  charm  of  English  poetry 
lies  not  in  its  regularity,  but  in  its  lawful  irregularity. 


THE   TRUNCATED   FOOT.  Ill 

The  established  principles  that  one  kind  of  foot  may 
be  used  in  place  of  another,  and  that  a  pause  may  em- 
phasize a  foot  and  even  supply  the  place  of  an  accent, 
very  greatly  enlarge  the  field  of  metrical  forms. 

Substitute  Feet.  —  The  substitute  feet  are  merely  vari- 
ations of  the  standard  feet.  The  one  that  occurs  often- 
est  is  the  Truncated  Foot. 

The  Truncated  Foot.  —  This  is  simply  the  accented 
syllable  of  a  foot  which  has  lost  the  unaccented  syllable 
or  syllables  normally  belonging  to  it.  It  may  be 
counted  one,  and  written  / .  The  usual  place  for  a 
truncated  foot  is  at  the  end  of  a  line,  but  it  may  appear 
at  the  beginning  or  within  the  line  ;  and  sometimes  an 
entire  line  is  composed  of  such  feet.  The  following 
examples  illustrate  its  use  :  — - 


/    w 


Life  is  |  but  an  |  empty  |  dream. 

Sweet  |  and  low,  ]  sweet  |  and  low, 
Wind  of  I  the  westlern  sea. 


Break,  |  break,  |  break, 

At  the  foot  |  of  thy  crags,  |  0  sea. 


yj      / 


It  is  interesting  to  note  that  when  the  truncated 
foot  appears  either  at  the  end  of  the  line  or  elsewhere, 
we  naturally  make  a  pause  after  it ;  thus  giving  it  the 
time  of  the  unaccented  syllable  or  syllables  which  it 
has  lost. 


112  VEB  SIFICA  TION. 

The  Unaccented  Foot.  —  It  often  occurs  in  iambic  and 
in  trochaic  verse  that  two  syllables  are  grouped  together, 
neither  of  which  should  take  an  accent.  Articles, 
monosyllabic  prepositions,  and  monosyllabic  conjunc- 
tions have  no  natural  accent  in  English,  and  but  rarely 
do  they  take  the  stress  of  emphasis.  The  metrical 
accent  should  as  a  rule  coincide  with  the  natural  accent 
of  words  or  with  the  stress  of  emphasis.  To  place  it 
upon  words  devoid  of  either  destroys  the  beauty  of 
the  line.  It  is  true  that  the  metrical  accents  of  a 
line  are  rarely  of  equal  value ;  they  vary  from  strong 
to  light,  but  in  certain  instances  the  stress  entirely  dis- 
appears. A  foot  from  which  the  metrical  stress  has 
disappeared  is  the  Unaccented  Foot.  It  is  called  a 
Pyrrhic  and  may  be  written  w  w.  The  following  exam- 
ples illustrate  its  use  :  — 

\j       /     kj       w       \j  /         \j      / 
The  min|strel  was  |  infirm  |  and  old. 

—  Scott  :  The  Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel. 

By  night  |  with  nois|es  of  j  the  northern  sea. 

—  Tennyson  :   The  Passing  of  Arthur. 

It  will  be  found  that  whenever  the  unaccented  foot 
appears,  we  are  inclined  to  make  a  pause  within  it,  thus 
supplying  to  some  extent  the  lost  accent.  We  often 
do  this  quite  unconsciously. 

The  Spondee.  —  The  Spondee  is  a  foot  of  two  syllables, 
both  accented.  It  is  an  exceedingly  irregular  form, 
because  each  foot  of  English  verse  is  supposed  to  pos- 
sess but  one  accented  syllable.  It  may  be  written  /  ' . 
The  following  examples  illustrate  its  use :  — 


METER.  113 

So  all  |  day  long  |  the  noise  |  of  batjtle  rolled. 

—  Tennyson  :   The  Passing  of  Arthur. 


Sweet  Ech|o,  sweet|est  nymph  |  that  liv'st  |  unseen 
Within  |  thy  air|y  shell.  _  MlLTON .  Cojn|tf# 


Irregularities.  —  A  final  unaccented  syllable  frequently 
occurs  at  the  end  of  a  line,  but  this  is  not  considered  a 
defect  in  the  regularity  of  the  verse.  An  example  of 
this  is  found  at  the  end  of  the  second  line  of  The 
Star-Spangled  Banner. 

Sometimes  three  unaccented  syllables  are  crowded 
into  an  anapestic  foot.  An  example  of  this  is  the  second 
foot  of  the  first  line  of  The  Destruction  of  Sennacherib. 

It  not  infrequently  happens  that  a  line  may  be 
correctly  scanned  in  more  than  one  way.  The  ques- 
tion is  not  one  of  right  or  wrong ;  it  is  more  often  a 
question  of  better  or  worse. 

Verse.  —  The  word  verse  as  it  is  ordinarily  used  in 
any  discussion  of  poetry  has  three  distinct  meanings. 
Strictly  speaking,  it  means  a  line  of  poetry.  The  term 
is  also  used  as  a  name  for  metrical  composition  in  gen- 
eral, as  opposed  to  prose.  It  is  often  applied  to  a 
stanza ;  especially  in  the  case  of  hymns  and  ballads. 

Meter.  —  Meter  means  the  foot,  or  metrical  measure 
of  the  line.  For  example,  when  we  say  that  a  poem  is 
written  in  iambic  meter,  we  mean  that  the  prevailing 
foot  is  an  iambus. 

Designation  of  Metric  Lines.  —  The  complete  name  of 
a  line  of  poetry  is  composed  of   two  words,  the  first 


114  VERSIFICATION. 

showing  the  kind  of  foot  and  the  second  the  number  of 
feet  in  a  line.  For  example,  iambic  trimeter  means 
that  the  prevailing  foot  is  an  iambus  and  that  the  num- 
ber of  feet  in  the  line  is  three.  The  following  names 
indicate  the  number  of  feet  in  a  line.  A  line  of  one 
foot  is  monometer ;  of  two  feet,  dimeter;  of  three  feet, 
trimeter;  of  four  feet,  tetrameter ;  of  five  feet, pentameter ; 
of  six  feet,  hexameter;  of  seven  feet,  heptameter  ;  and  of 
eight  feet,  octameter.  The  adjectives  which  indicate  the 
kind  of  foot  used  are  :  iambic,  trochaic,  anapestic,  and 
dactjilic.  An  iambic  line  of  twelve  syllables  is  called 
an  Alexandrine. 

The  Effect  of  Different  Measures.  — The  effect  of  an 
iambic;  measure  varies  with  the  number  of  feet  in  the 
line.  In  the  line  of  four  feet,  the  tetrameter,  the  move- 
ment is  lively,  stirring,  and  lyrical.  Scott  uses  this 
measure  in  all  his  long  poems ;  often  associated  with  it 
is  the  trimeter,  which  resembles  it  in  character ;  such 
is  the  measure  of  the  old  English  ballads ;  great  num- 
bers of  songs  and  hymns  are  thus  written.  Add  to  the 
tetrameter  one  more  foot  and.  the  line  becomes  the 
heroic  measure  of  English  verse, — the  iambic  pentam- 
eter, the  verse  of  Paradise  Lost  and  of  Shakespeare's 
plays  ;  the  verse  of  dignity  and  power.  Add  still 
another  foot  to  the  pentameter  and  the  line  is  trans- 
formed into  the  Alexandrine,  that  "  drags  its  slow 
length  along." 

Trochaic  lines  frequently  occur  in  iambic  verse,  and 
in  many  poems  the  trochee  is  the  prevailing  foot  ;  but 
the  measure  is  not  so  common  as  the  iambic.  The 
movement  of  trochaic  verse  often  suggests  a  march  or 


THE  EFFECT  OF  DIFFERENT  MEASURES.        115 

dance.  In  Longfellow's  Hiawatha  it  becomes  a  chant. 
Trochaic  lines  are  frequently  long,  as  in  Tennyson's 
Loclcsley  Hall  and  Lowell's  Present  Crisis. 

Anapestic  verse  is  bright  and  cheerful,  well  suited  to 
merry  songs  and  songs  of  victory.  Its  movement  has 
in  it  the  suggestion  of  a  gallop.  Anapestic  lines  rarely 
contain  more  than  three  or  four  feet. 

Dactylic  verse  is  the  most  difficult  to  write  of  all  the 
standard  measures,  since  it  melts  so  easily  into  the 
anapestic  form.  But  the  dactylic  hexameter  as  written 
by  Longfellow  in  Evangeline  is  a  wonderful  production, 
and  suggests  the  rhythm  of  the  classical  hexameter. 

EXERCISE. 

Determine  the  prevailing  foot  in  the  following  selections. 
Note  when  another  foot  is  substituted  for  the  prevailing  foot. 
Note  any  irregularities  in  the  verse.     Name  the  lines. 

Under  the  greenwood  tree 
Who  loves  to  lie  with  me, 
And  tune  his  merry  note 
Unto  the  sweet  bird's  throat, 
Come  hither,  come  hither,  come  hither ; 
Here  shall  he  see 
No  enemy 
But  Winter  and  rough  weather. 
—  Shakespeare  :    As  You  Like  It,  Act  n,  Scene  5,  Song. 

The  melancholy  days  are  come,  the  saddest  of  the  year 

Of  wailing  winds,  and  naked  woods,  and  meadows  brown 

and  sere. 
Heaped  in  the  hollows  of  the  grove,  the  autumn  leaves  lie 

dead; 
They  rustle  to  the  eddying  gust,  and  to  the  rabbit's  tread. 


116  VERSIFICATION. 

The  robin  and  the  wren  are  flown,  and  from  the  shrubs  the 

jay, 

And  from  the  wood-top  calls  the  crow  through  all  the  gloomy 
day.  _  Bryant  :   The  Death  of  the  Flowers. 

The  dew  was  falling  fast,  the  stars  began  to  blink ; 
I  heard  a  voice  ;  it  said,  "  Drink,  pretty  creature,  drink." 

—  Wordsworth  :   The  Pet  Lamb. 

New  occasions  teach  new  duties  ;  Time  makes  ancient  good 
uncouth  ; 

They  must  upward  still,  and  onward,  who  would  keep 
abreast  of  Truth ; 

Lo,  before  us  gleam  her  camp-fires !  we  ourselves  must 
Pilgrims  be, 

Launch  our  Mayflower,  and  steer  boldly  through  the  desper- 
ate winter  sea, 

Nor  attempt  the  Future's  portal  with  the  Past's  blood-rusted 

key.  — Lowell:   The  Present  Crisis. 

Slowly  and  sadly  we  laid  him  down, 

Prom  the  field  of  his  fame  fresh  and  gory ; 

We  carved  not  a  line,  we  raised  not  a  stone,  — 
But  we  left  him  alone  in  his  glory. 

—  Wolfe  :   The  Burial  of  Sir  John  Moore. 

Write  one  or  more  lines  in  the  measures  indicated. 


\J  / 

\J  / 

\J    / 

\J    / 

e  saw 

the  sun 

arise 

that  morn 

/  \j 

\j  / 

\j  / 

\j  / 

/  v_/ 

/^> 

s  w 

/ 

\J  ' 

\j  / 

w  / 

yy  /       w  s 

\J\J  ' 

\y  w  /• 

\J\J  / 

\jkj  / 

\J\J  /■ 

w  / 

WW 

w 

/  \J\J 

s  \J 

/  \J^J 

/  \j 

/  \J 

KJ     / 

/  w 

\j  / 

This  exercise  can  be  extended  indefinitely. 


THE  C^E SURAL   PAUSE.  117 

Rhythm. —  Rhythm  is  the  movement,  the  measured 
flow  of  the  verse.  It  varies  with  the  different  meters 
and  is  more  or  less  modified  by  the  csesural  pauses. 

The  Caesural  Pause.  —  A  line  of  poetry  is  usually 
divided  into  two  parts  by  a  metrical  pause,  called 
Ccesura.  In  English  poetry  there  is  no  definite  place 
where  this  pause  should  fall.  Some  lines  have  two 
caesuras.  In  practice,  the  best  method  to  determine  the 
pauses  is  first  to  get  the  swing  of  the  regular  lines  of  a 
poem,  and  then,  as  irregularities  occur,  the  pauses  will 
restore  the  balance  to  the  verse  and  give  smoothness  to 
the  rhythm.  The  place  of  the  caesura  depends  upon  the 
sense  of  the  passage,  the  taste  of  the  reader,  and  the 
necessities  of  the  rhythm.  It  is  marked  in  the  following 
examples  by  what  printers  call  the  parallels  (thus,  ||). 

Breathes  there  the  man  ||  with  soul  so  dead, 
Who  never  ||  to  himself  hath  said, 
This  is  my  own,  ||  my  native  land  ! 

—  Scott  :  The  Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel. 

Sound  ||  the  loud  timbrel  ||  o'er  Egypt's  dark  sea, 
Jehovah  ||  hath  triumphed,  ||  his  people  are  free. 

—  Moore. 
So  all  day  long  ||  the  noise  of  battle  rolled 
Among  the  mountains  ||  by  the  winter  sea; 
Until  King  Arthur's  Table,  ||  man  by  man, 
Had  fallen  in  Lyonnesse  ||  about  their  lord, 
King  Arthur.         _  Tennyson  .   The  passing  0f  Arthur. 

Rhyme.  —  Rhyme  is  an  agreement  in  the  terminal 
sounds  of  two  or  more  words.  For  a  perfect  rhyme 
the  usage  of  modern  English  verse  requires  that  the 


118  VEB  SIFICA  TION. 

words  shall  agree  in  their  final  vowel  sound  and  in 
any  consonant  sound  that  follows  the  vowel,  but  that 
they  shall  not  agree  in  the  consonant  sound  that  pre- 
cedes the  vowel.     Examples  are  :  — 

Bold,  cold ;    ill,  fulfil ;    round,  mound ;    deceive,  believe. 

A  rhyme  must  always  include  an  accented  syllable. 
A  double  rhyme  includes  an  accented  syllable  followed 
by  an  unaccented ;  a  triple  rhyme  includes  an  accented 
syllable  and  two  unaccented  syllables.   Examples  are  :  — 

Swinging,  ringing ;  tenderly,  slenderly. 

In  poetry,  these  rhyming  words  are  found  usually  at 
the  end  of  the  lines,  but  sometimes  a  word  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  line  rhymes  with  a  word  at  its  end.  The 
following  is  an  example  :  — 

For  all  averred,  I  had  killed  the  bird 

That  made  the  breeze  to  blow ; 
"  Ah,  wretch,"  said  they,  "  the  bird  to  slay 

That  made  the  breeze  to  blow." 

—  Coleridge  :  Rime  of  the  Ancient  Mariner. 

Verse  without  rhyme  is  called  Blank  Verse. 

EXEKCISE. 

Write  one  or  more  words  that  will  rhyme  with  the  following  :  — 

Fail,  alone,  trial,  pain,  calling,  gate,  rise,  saying. 

Write  two  lines  of  verse  that  rhyme. 

Write  one  line  of  verse  with  a  word  in  the  middle  of  the  line 
that  rhymes  with  the  terminal  word. 

Write  a  stanza  of  four  lines  in  iambic  tetrameter  with  alternate 
lines  rhyming. 

Write  four  lines  of  blank  verse  in  iambic  pentameter. 
Write  a  couplet  of  anapestic  lines  rhyming  at  the  end. 


ALLITERATION  AND  ASSONANCE.  119 

Alliteration.  —  Alliteration  is  the  repetition  of  the 
same  letter  or  sound  at  the  beginning  of  two  or  more 
words  in  close  or  immediate  succession. 

The  splendor  falls  on  castle  walls 
And  snowy  summits  old  in  story : 

The  long  light  shakes  across  the  lakes, 
And  the  wild  cataract  leaps  in  glory. 

—  Tennyson  :   The  Princess. 

In  a  coign  of  the  cliff  between  lowland  and  highland, 
At  the  sea-down's  edge  between  windward  and  lee, 

Walled  round  with  rocks  as  an  inland  island, 
The  ghost  of  a  garden  fronts  the  sea. 

—  Swinburne  :  A  Forsaken  Garden. 

Assonance. — Assonance  in  verse  is  a  harmony  of 
bound  in  words  closely  related.  For  example,  observe 
the  o  sounds  in  the  following  selection  :  — 

While  the  great  organ  almost  burst  his  pipes, 

Groaning  for  power,  and  rolling  thro'  the  court 

A  long  melodious  thunder  to  the  sound 

Of  solemn  psalms,  and  silver  litanies, 

The  work  of  Ida,  to  call  clown  from  Heaven 

A  blessing  on  her  labors  for  the  world. 

—  Tennyson  :   The  Princess. 

Practice  in  Writing  Verse.  —  Practice  in  writing  verse 
is  practice  in  composition  under  definite  rules,  and  is 
of  great  value  to  all  who  desire  a  command  of  the 
English  language.  Whoever  wishes  to  write  effec- 
tive  prose  should  practise  the  art  of  versification.  No 
other  exercise  will  make  so  evident  the  limitations  of 
one's  vocabulary;  no  other  requires  such  knowledge 
of  the  force,  beauty,  and  variety  of  words.    After  trying 


120 


VERSIFICATION. 


to  make  verses  ourselves,  we  appreciate  the  poet's 
skill. 

In  beginning  to  write,  it  is  an  excellent  plan  to  study 
the  measure  and  rhythm  of  some  simple  poem.  Analyze 
it  so  that  you  know  what  it  is.  Get  the  swing  of  the 
meter.  Then  try  to  write  something  similar.  Keep 
clearly  in  mind  the  number  of  accents  in  each  line, 
and,  as  you  write,  however  the  unaccented  syllables 
may  vary,  do  not  increase  the  number  of  the  accented 
ones.  This  rule  is  vital;  do  not  disobey  it, — you  are 
working  under  law.  If  you  take  as  your  model  the 
simplest  of  nursery  rhymes,  — 

A   is  I  an  ap[ple  round  |  and  red, — 

and  go  on  through  the  alphabet,  keeping  true  to  the 
meter,  —  the  fear  accents  and  no  more,  however  much 
you  may  vary  the  rhythm,  —  you  have  a  valuable  exer- 
cise in  the  use  of  the  English  language. 

EXEKCISE. 


Subjects  for  Songs. 
Song  of  Jack  Frost. 
Song  of  the  First  Robin. 
Song  of  the  Rain. 
The  Fall  of  the  Snow,      j 
Songs  of  the  Greeks  after  Sala- 
mis. 

Song  of  the  Spring. 

Songs  of  the  Months. 

Class  Song. 

Song  of  the  Brook. 


To  Read  or  Examine. 

Songs  of  Eugene  Field. 
Songs  of  R.  L.  Stevenson. 

|  Song  in  Tennyson's  Prin- 
\      cess,  Canto  vi. 

{Song    of    Spring.  —  Mrs. 
Hemans. 
j  Poet's  Calendar.  —  Long- 
\     fellow. 

TJie  Boys.  —  Holmes. 
J  The   Brook;    an  Idyll. — 
\      Tennyson. 


THE  SONNET.  121 

Subjects  for  Story  Poems.  To  Read  or  Examine. 

Persephone  (cast  in  first  per-  f  Persephone.  —  Jean     Inge- 
son,  likeTennyson's  Ulysses),  i      low. 
Jack  of  the  Bean-stalk. 

The    Story    of    the    Wooden  r    _     . ,  _     , 
-u-  \  ^xlneid,  Book  n. 

The  Charge  at  San  Juan.  r  The    Charge    of   the    Light 

The  Greeks  at  Thermopylae.      i.      Brigade.  —  Tennyson. 

m,     T      ].         n  , ,     -o-i  f  It  was  the  Schooner  Hesperus. 

Ihe  Banding  of  the  .Pilgrims.  ^  _        „  J 

I      —  Bongf  ellow. 


How  they  brought  the  Good 
The  Race  with  the  Tide.  News  from,  Ghent  to  Aix. 


Any  of  iEsop's  Fables. 


—  Robert  Browning. 


To  a  Violet 


Lines.  To  Read  or  Examine. 

[The    Violet.—  William    W. 

\      Story. 

For  a  Fly-leaf  to  a  Book. 

To  a  Friend.  The  Ivy  Green.  —  Dickens. 

,  T.„.     .  ,   .  [The  Biqlow    Papers,    vi. — 

A  Little  Advice.  <      T       \\ 

I      Lowell. 

Study  of  the  Sonnet.  — ■  The  sonnet  is  a  complete  poem, 
which  should  be  the  expression  of  a  single  thought  or 
sentiment.  It  consists  of  fourteen  lines  arranged  in 
accordance  with  a  prescribed  disposition  of  rhymes. 

The  measure  is  iambic  pentameter.  The  fourteen 
lines  are  divided  into  two  groups  :  one  of  eight  lines, 
the  other  of  six.  The  eight-line  group  can  be  broken 
into  two  sub-groups  of  four  lines  each,  called  quatrains. 
The  six-line  group  can  be  broken  into  two  sub- 
groups, called  tercets.  The  sub-groups  are  tied  to- 
gether with  rhymes. 


122  VERSIFICATION. 

The  rhyme  structure  of  the  sonnet  may  be  easily 
remembered  by  bearing  in  mind  the  typical  formula,  — 

abba,  abba,  cde,cde,  — 

in  which  like  letters  represent  like  rhymes.  The  rhyme 
of  the  quatrains  is  fixed  to  the  typical  form ;  but 
that  of  the  tercets  is  permitted  to  vary  in  any  way  that 
the  writer  chooses. 

The  following  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  sonnets 
in  English  :  — 

Mysterious  Night !     When  our  first  parent  knew 
Thee  from  report  divine,  and  heard  thy  name, 
Did  he  not  tremble  for  this  lovely  frame, 

This  glorious  canopy  of  light  and  blue  ? 

Yet  'neath  a  curtain  of  translucent  dew, 

Bathed  in  the  rays  of  the  great  setting  flame, 
Hesperus  with  the  host  of  heaven  came, 

And  lo  !  creation  widen'd  in  man's  view. 

Who  could  have  thought  such  darkness  lay  conceal'd 
Within  thy  beams,  0  Sun  ?    Or  who  could  find, 

Whilst  fruit,  and  leaf,  and  insect  stood  revealed, 
That  to  such  countless  orbs  thou  mad'st  us  blind  ? 

Why  do  we,  then,  shun  Death  with  anxious  strife  ? 

If  Light  conceals  so  much,  wherefore  not  Life  ? 

—  Joseph  Blanco  White. 

The  only  way  to  understand  sonnets  is  to  read  them. 
Those  named  in  the  following  list  will  amply  repay 
both  appreciative  reading  and  careful  study  :  — 

The  World  is  too  much  with  Us. — Sonnet  viii.    Wordsworth. 
Milton.  —  Sonnet  ix.     Wordsworth. 
On  His  Blindness.  —  Milton. 
The  Latter  Rain.  —  Jones  Very. 


STUDY  OF  THE  SONNET. 


123 


TJie  Grasshopp>er  and  Cricket.  —  Leigh  Hunt. 
The  Sonnet  —  E.  W.  Gilder. 
The  Maple.  —  Lowell. 

EXERCISE. 

After  reading  the  poems  indicated,  try  to  write  a  sonnet  on  one 
of  the  following  subjects :  — 


Subjects  for  Sonnets. 

Oak,  Willow,  Apple. 

Morning,  Sunrise,  Twilight. 

Woods  in  Winter. 

Washington. 

Lincoln. 

Arthur's  Sword,  Excalibur. 

To  a  Daisy. 

To  a  Wild  Flower. 
The  Bluebird. 
The  Katydid. 
To  My  Dog. 

To  the  Month  of  May. 

To  the  First  Hepatica. 
On  Arriving  at  a  Sixteenth 

Birthday. 
To  the  First  Snow-fall. 

To  the  October  Woods. 
Toast  to  a  School  Society. 


To  Read  or  Examine. 

The  Maple.  —  Lowell. 
Night.  —  Longfellow. 

Milton.  — Wordsworth. 
Commemoration  Ode.  —  Lowell. 

To  the  Dandelion.  — Lowell. 

To    the     Small      Celandine.  — 
Wordsworth. 
f  To  a  Skylark.  —  Wordsworth. 
1  To  a  Waterfowl. —  Bryant. 

On      the       Grasshopper      and 
Cricket.  —  Keats, 
f  Flush  or  Faunus.  —  Elizabeth 
\      Barrett  Browning. 
[  Prelude     to      Vision     of    Sir 
1      Launfal. — Lowell. 
L  The  Nest :  May.  —  Lowell. 

Daffodils.  — Wordsworth. 


The  First  Snow-fall.  —  Lowell. 
r  An  Indian  Summer  Revery.  — 
[      Lowell. 


124  VERSIFICATION. 

Metrical  Translations. 
From  the  German  :  — 

Du  bist  wie  eine  Blume.  —  Heine. 

Johanna's  Abschied.  —  Schiller. 

Der  Wanderer  in  der  Sage-muhle.  —  Koerner. 

Der  ErUconig.  —  Goethe. 
From  the  Latin  :  — 

JEneid,  Invocation,  Book  i,  1-12.  — Virgil. 

Classification  of  Poetry.  —  The  great  body  of  English 
poetry  may  be  classified  into  four  groups.  These  are 
Narrative,  Dramatic,  Lyric,  and  Idyllic  poetry. 

Narrative  Poetry.  —  The  highest  form  of  narrative 
poetry  is  the  Epic.  In  order  that  a  poem  should  be 
a  great  epic,  it  is  necessary  that  the  subject  should 
be  great  and  heroic  ;  that  the  poem  should  be  a  com- 
plete and  connected  whole  ;  that  it  should  involve  a 
plot  and  many  actors ;  that  its  hero  should  be  a  lofty 
character ;  that  its  tone  should  be  earnest ;  and  that 
the  story  itself,  merely  as  a  story,  should  be  interest- 
ing. In  the  national  or  great  epic,  the  actors  are  gods 
as  well  as  heroes.  Milton's  Paradise  Lost  is  the  only 
great  epic  in  English.  This  is  written  in  heroic  verse  ; 
that  is,  in  unrhymed  iambic  pentameter. 

High  on  a  throne  of  royal  state,  which  far 
Outshone  the  wealth  of  Ormus  and  of  Ind, 
Or  where  the  gorgeous  East  with  richest  hand 
Showers  on  her  Kings  barbaric  pearl  and  gold, 
Satan  exalted  sat,  by  merit  raised 
To  that  had  eminence. 

—  Milton:  Paradise  Lost,  Book  n. 


DRAMATIC  POETRY.  125 

Below  the  epic  ranks  the  Metrical  Romance,  inferior 
in  dignity  and  grandeur  to  the  epic,  but  essentially 
the  same  kind  of  composition.  Well-known  examples 
are  Scott's  Marmion  and  The  Lady  of  the  Lake,  and 
Tennyson's  Idylls  of  the  King. 

The  simplest  form  of  narrative  poetry  is  the  Ballad. 
This  is  a  short  poem,  dealing  with  one  incident  or  one 
group  of  incidents,  —  in  character  partly  narrative  and 
partly  lyric.  The  famous  border  ballads  of  England 
and  Scotland  are  chiefly  narrative;  the  ballads  of 
modern  poets  contain  usually  a  lyric  element  which 
adapts  them  for  singing. 

Between  the  metrical  romance  and  the  ballad  is  a 
great  body  of  poetry  which  may  be  designated  simply 
narrative  verse. 

Dramatic  Poetry.  —  In  Dramatic  poetry  the  action  of 
the  poem  is  carried  on  by  means  of  persons  actually 
speaking.  The  greatest  dramatist  in  English  litera- 
ture is  Shakespeare.  The  early  printers  of  his  plays 
arranged  them  in  three  classes,  —  Comedies,  Histories, 
and  Tragedies.  The  comedies  and  tragedies  were 
classified  without  regard  to  the  time  when  they  were 
written  or  to  any  other  order ;  but  the  histories  had  a 
chronological  sequence,  based  upon  the  period  in  which 
the  action  occurred.  The  whole  arrangement  was 
arbitrary,  and  the  classification  so  vague  as  to  be  of 
little  worth.  For  example,  Julius  Cwsar,  classed 
as  a  tragedy,  is  certainly  not  less  historical  than 
Richard  III. 

The  prevailing  verse  of  Shakespeare's  plays  is  un- 
rhymed    iambic    pentameter.      But  the    verse   is  very 


126  VERSIFICATION. 

irregular  in  its  structure  ;  rhymed  couplets  often  appear 
at  the  end  of  scenes,  and  broken  lines  are  very  fre- 
quent. Many  "  overflow  lines  "  appear  in  the  verse ; 
that  is,  lines  where  there  is  no  pause  at  the  end,  and 
where  the  next  line  follows  as  if  it  were  prose.  For 
example :  — 

If  it  were  done  when  'tis  done,  then  'twere  well 
It  were  done  quickly.     If  the  assassination 
Could  trammel  up  the  consequence,  and  catch 
With  his  surcease,  success ;  that  mit  this  blow 
Might  be  the.  be-all  and  the  end-all  here,  — 
But  here,  upon  this  bank  and  shoal  of  time,  — 
We'd  jump  the  life  to  come. 

—  Macbeth,  Act  i,  Scene  7. 

The  way  to  read  Shakespeare  is  to  get  the  swing  of  the 
measure,  balance  the  lines  with  pauses,  and  read  with 
"the  spirit  and  the  understanding." 

Lyric  Poetry.  —  Lyric  poetry  includes  all  verse  that 
is  the  expression  of  feeling,  sentiment,  or  passion,  as 
opposed  to  narrative  or  dramatic  poetry,  which  details 
external  circumstances  or  events.  Well-known  forms 
of  lyric  poetry  are  hymns,  songs,  and  odes.  Not  all 
lyric  poems  are  intended  to  be  sung.  The  sonnet  is 
classed  among  lyric  poems. 

The  Elegy,  which  primarily  is  a  song  expressive  of 
sorrow  and  lamentation,  is  also  classed  among  the  lyrics. 
In  the  wider  use  of  the  word,  an  elegy  may  be  any 
serious  poem,  but  it  must  always  be  subjective  in  char- 
acter, that  is,  it  must  picture  the  mood  of  the  writer, 
which  may  be  either  sorrowful  or  reflective. 


IDYLLIC  POETRY.  127 

Idyllic  Poetry.  —  Idyllic  or  Pastoral  poetry  is  primarily 
poetry  descriptive  of  rural  scenes  and  events.  It  may 
also  have  a  reflective  character.  Goldsmith's  Deserted 
Village,  Burns'  Cottar  s  Saturday  Night,  Whittier's 
Snow- Bound,  are  all  idyllic  poems. 

Many  poems  do  not  fall  strictly  under  any  of  the 
foregoing  classifications.  Some,  like  Bryant's  Thana- 
topsis,  are  purely  reflective  ;  others,  like  Pope's  Essay 
on  Criticism,  are  purely  didactic;  still  others  are  com- 
posite in  structure  and  combine  the  characteristics  of 
two  or  more  of  the  classified  forms. 


CHAPTER   X. 
EXPOSITION. 

PRACTICAL  AND  INTELLECTUAL  VALUE  —  LITERARY 
FORMS  —  ORDINARY  METHODS  OF  EXPOSITION  —  CRIT- 
ICISM  HOW    TO    WRITE    A    BOOK    REVIEW  —  SCHOOL 

ESSAY  —  THE  THEME  —  ARRANGEMENT  OF  MATERIAL 
—  HOW   TO    WRITE    A   SCHOOL    ORATION. 

Exposition  is  the  art  of  explaining.  Description 
and  narration  are  principally  concerned  with  the  outer 
world  of  scenes  and  events  ;  exposition  has  largely  to 
do  with  the  inner  world  of  thoughts  and  feelings.  Ex- 
planation often  takes  the  form  of  description,  which  is 
to  be  distinguished  from  pure  literary  description  by  a 
difference  of  purpose.  The  highest  aim  of  exposition 
is  to  impart  knowledge  and  thus  to  influence  opinion. 

Practical  Value.  —  The  practical  service  of  exposition 
is  beyond  calculation.  We  need  it  in  fulfilling  the 
duties  of  any  profession  or  trade  which  we  may  enter. 
In  law,  in  medicine,  in  teaching,  in  preaching,  and  in 
business,  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  explana- 
tions be  clear  and  coherent.  Whenever  a  stranger  in 
town  asks  for  directions  to  reach  an  obscure  part  of 
the  city,  an  opportunity  is  furnished  for  the  skilful  use 
of  exposition.  Recitations  and  written  examinations 
become  valuable  only  when  the  student  understands 
how  to  arrange  his  ideas  in  effective  form. 

128 


EXPOSITION   IN  PROSE.  129 

Beneficial  to  Intellectual  Growth.  —  Exposition  forces 
us  to  know  clearly  what  we  know  at  all.  We  do  not 
realize  how  very  hazy  our  knowledge  is  until  we  try  to 
impart  it.  Hence,  as  a  means  of  intellectual  discipline, 
exposition  is  invaluable,  for  it  compels  us  to  reflect. 
Practice  in  written  exposition  is  the  best  cure  for  the 
habit  of  talking  with  self-confident  assumption  of  knowl- 
edge. Unless  we  can  express  in  writing  what  we  think, 
our  thoughts  are  not  very  clearly  defined. 

Subject-matter  of  Exposition. — The  subject-matter  of 
exposition  covers  a  wide  field.  It  may  relate  simply  to 
a  general  term,  as  books,  dogs  ;  it  may  discuss  an 
abstract  quality,  as  in  Portia's  analysis  of  mercy  ;  it  may 
explain  a  general  process  or  method,  as  the  manufacture 
of  cloth ;  or  it  may  set  forth  the  meaning  of  a  propo- 
sition which  requires  careful  demonstration.  What- 
ever the  subject,  exposition  gives  the  result  of  personal 
reflection. 

Forms  of  Exposition  in  Prose.  —  Whole  books  have 
been  written  by  the  learned  and  wise  in  the  expository 
style,  but  the  common  forms  of  exposition  appear  in 
smaller  compass.  When  an  author  writes  in  complete 
and  formal  manner  what  he  thinks  about  a  subject, 
with  the  idea  that  his  composition  is  to  be  read,  he 
makes  use  of  the  literary  form  known  as  the  essay.  If 
he  composes  what  he  has  to  say  about  a  subject  with 
the  idea  that  he  is  to  address  an  audience,  he  prepares 
an  informal  talk,  a  public  address,  or  a  formal  oration. 
Minor  forms  of  exposition  in  prose  are  character  sketches, 
abstracts  or  summaries  of  essays  and  books,  reports  of 
lectures  and  addresses,  editorials,  and  book  reviews. 


130  EXPOSITION. 

Forms  of  Exposition  in  Poetry.  —  Poetry,  too,  offers 
many  illustrations  of  reflective  writing.  Some  of  the 
most  beautiful  expositions  of  feeling  are  given  in  elegy, 
idyll,  ode,  and  song  ;  while  here  and  there  in  the  poetic 
drama,  the  characters  give  utterance  to  lofty  exposi- 
tions of  truth  and  wisdom.  Moreover,  in  all  kinds  of 
literature  we  may  find  examples  of  exposition  closely 
interwoven  with  narration  and  description  ;  in  argu- 
ment it  is  a  fundamental  element. 

First  Essential  to  Good  Exposition.  —  The  first  essen- 
tial to  good  exposition  is  a  definite  plan.  In  order  to 
settle  upon  one,  the  writer  must  collect  his  thoughts 
on  the  subject  in  hand,  and  arrange  them  in  orderly 
sequence.  No  person  who  has  attained  distinction  as  a 
writer  of  prose  has  worked  without  a  plan.  If  we  study 
carefully  the  structure  of  a  masterpiece  in  literary 
exposition,  we  shall  see  that  its  various  parts  generally 
aim  toward  some  definite  end.  It  is  this  end  which 
gives  to  the  work  unity,  thus  making  it  easy  for  the 
reader  to  follow  the  logical  unfolding  of  the  subject. 
The  more  naturally  one  thought  seems  to  grow  out 
of  another,  the  more  skilfully,  you  may  be  sure,  has 
the  author  developed  his  plan. 

EXERCISE. 

In  each  of  the  following  specimens  of  exposition,  first  decide 
what  end  the  author  had  in  view ;  then  make  an  outline  of  the 
thought,  stating  the  topics  concisely  in  the  form  of  single  words 
or  phrases. 

Essay  on  Studies.  —  Bacon. 
Gettysburg  Address.  —  Lincoln. 
Sonnet  on  his  Blindness.  — Milton. 


EXAMPLES   OF  EXPOSITION.  131 

Sonnet  to  Cromioell.  —  Milton. 

Lycidas.  —  Milton. 

Essay  on  rural  manners,  Spectator,  No.  119. 

Party  feeling,  Spectator,  Nos.  125  and  126. 

Will  Wimble,  Spectator,  No.  108. 

Sir  Roger  at  the  Assizes,  Spectator,  No.  122. 

Portia's   analysis   of   mercy,    Merchant   of  Venice,  Act  iv, 

Scene  1. 
Brutus'   speech    in  defence  of  his   act,  Julius   Cozsar,  Act 

in,  Scene  2. 
Macbeth's  soliloquy,  Macbeth,  Act  i,  Scene  7. 
To  a  Skylark.  —  Shelley. 
For  a'  That  and  a'  That.  —  Burns. 
Sonnet  to  Milton.  —  Wordsworth. 
Elegy  written  in  a  Country  Churchyard.  —  Gray. 
Ode  on  Immortality.  — Wordsworth. 
The  Chambered  Nautilus.  —  Holmes. 
The  Deserted  Village.  —  Goldsmith. 

Use  Roman  numerals  for  main  topics  and  Arabic  notation  for 
subordinate  topics.  Express  parallel  subordinate  topics-  in  simi- 
lar grammatical  forms,  so  far  as  possible  ;  for  example  :  — 

Essay  on  Studies. 

I.  Service  of  Studies  :  — 

1.  For  delight. 

2.  For  ornament. 

3.  For  ability. 

II.  Abuse  of  Studies :  — 

1.  Spending  too  much  time  on  them. 

2.  Using  them  too  much  for  ornament. 

3.  Judging  wholly  by  their  rules. 

A  Good  Beginning.  —  After  collecting  his  material, 
developing  his  outline,  and  arranging  the  topics  of  his 
composition,  the  writer  must  select  an  easy  approach  to 


132  EXPOSITION. 

his  explanation  of  the  subject.  Sometimes  a  definition 
will  fitly  prepare  the  way.  For  instance,  in  one  of  his 
critical  essays,  Matthew  Arnold  at  the  outset  defines 
poetry  as  simply  the  most  "beautiful,  impressive,  and 
effective  mode  of  saying  things."  This  statement  pre- 
pares the  way  for  the  discussion  of  a  particular  poet. 
Another  example  of  a  good  beginning  by  definition  is 
the  following  :  — 

I  have  always  preferred  cheerfulness  to  mirth.  The  latter 
I  consider  as  an  act,  the  former  as  an  habit  of  the  mind. 
Mirth  is  short  and  transient,  cheerfulness  fixed  and  perma- 
nent. Those  are  often  raised  into  the  greatest  transports  of 
mirth,  who  are  subject  to  the  greatest  depressions  of  melan- 
choly ;  on  the  contrary,  cheerfulness,  though  it  does  not 
give  the  mind  such  an  exquisite  gladness,  prevents  us  from 
falling  into  any  depths  of  sorrow.  Mirth  is  like  a  flash  of 
lightning,  that  breaks  through  a  gloom  of  clouds,  and  glitters 
for  a  moment ;  cheerfulness  keeps  up  a  kind  of  daylight  in 
the  mind,  and  fills  it  with  a  steady  and  perpetual  serenity. 
—  Addison  :   "Cheerfulness  and  Mirth,"  Spectator,  No,  381. 

At  another  time,  it  is  better  to  begin  with  a  state- 
ment which  gives  in  a  single  sentence  some  general 
principle  underlying  the  whole  subject  to  be  expanded, 
as  in  describing  a  game,  the  topical  sentence  of  the  first 
paragraph  might  appropriately  indicate  the  object  of 
the  game.  In  the  following  example,  the  opening  sen- 
tences of  a  great  work  that  was  never  finished,  state 
the  author's  purpose  and  distinctly  lay  down  the  plan 
which  he  means  to  carry  out  :  — 

I  purpose  to  write  the  history  of  England  from  the  acces- 
sion of  King  James  the  Second  down  to  a  time  which  is 
within  the  memory  of  men  still  living.     I  shall  recount  the 


ORDINARY  METHODS    OF  EXPOSITION.  133 

errors  which,  in  a  few  months,  alienated  a  loyal  gentry  and 
priesthood  from  the  House  of  Stuart.  I  shall  trace  the 
course  of  that  revolution  which  terminated  the  long  struggle 
between  our  sovereigns  and  their  parliaments,  and  bound  up 
together  the  rights  of  the  people  and  the  title  of  the  reigning 
dynasty.  — Macaulay  :  History  of  England,  Chapter  i. 

Ordinary  Methods  of  Exposition.  —  One  of  the  common 
ways  of  unfolding  a  subject  already  defined  is  to  repeat 
the  definition  in  more  general  or  more  particular 
terms  :  — 

The  bird  is  little  more  than  a  drift  of  the  air  brought  into 
form  by  plumes ;  the  air  is  in  all  its  quills,  it  breathes  through 
its  whole  frame  and  flesh,  and  glows  with  air  in  its  flying, 
like  a  blown  flame :  it  rests  upon  the  air,  subdues  it,  surpasses 
it,  outraces  it, — is  the  air,  conscious  of  itself,  conquering 
itself,  ruling  itself. 

Also,  into  the  throat  of  the  bird  is  given  the  voice  of  the 
air.  All  that  in  the  wind  itself  is  weak,  wild,  useless  in 
sweetness,  is  knit  together  in  its  song.  As  we  may  imagine 
the  wild  form  of  the  cloud  closed  into  the  perfect  form  of  the 
bird's  wings,  so  the  wild  voice  of  the  cloud  into  its  ordered 
and  commanded  voice  ;  unwearied,  rippling  through  the  clear 
heaven  in  its  gladness,  interpreting  all  intense  passion 
through  the  soft  spring  nights,  bursting  into  acclaim  and 
rapture  of  choir  at  daybreak,  or  lisping  and  twittering  among 
the  boughs  and  hedges  through  heat  of  day,  like  little  winds 
that  only  make  the  cowslip  bells  shake,  and  ruffle  the  petals 
of  the  wild  rose. 

Also,  upon  the  plumes  of  the  bird  are  put  the  colors  of  the 
air :  on  these  the  gold  of  the  cloud,  that  cannot  be  gathered 
by  any  covetousness  ;  the  rubies  of  the  clouds,  the  vermilion 
of  the  cloud-bar,  and  the  flame  of  the  cloud-crest,  and  the 
snow  of  the  cloud,  and  its  shadow,  and  the  melted  blue  of  the 


134  EXPOSITION. 

deep  wells  of  the  sky  —  all  these,  seized  by  the  creating  spirit, 
and  woven  into  films  and  threads  of  plume ;  with  wave  on 
wave  following  and  fading  along  breast,  and  throat,  and 
opened  wings,  infinite  as  the  dividing  of  the  foam  and  the 
sifting  of  the  sea-sand  ;  —  even  the  white  down  of  the  cloud 
seeming  to  flutter  up  between  the  stronger  plumes,  seen,  but 
too  soft  for  touch. 

—  Ruskin  :   Queen  of  the  Air,  —  Athena  Keramitis. 

Another  method  is  to  enumerate  the  attributes  belong- 
ing to  the  general  subject  :  — 

Thus  the  Puritan  was  made  up  of  two  different  men, 
the  one  all  self-abasement,  penitence,  gratitude,  passion, 
the  other  proud,  calm,  inflexible,  sagacious.  He  prostrated 
himself  in  the  dust  before  his  Maker :  but  he  set  his  foot 
on  the  neck  of  his  king.  In  his  devotional  retirement,  he 
prayed  with  convulsions,  and  groans,  and  tears.  He  was 
half-maddened  by  glorious  or  terrible  illusions.  He  heard 
the  lyres  of  angels  or  the  tempting  whispers  of  fiends.  He 
caught  a  gleam  of  the  Beatific  Vision,  or  woke  screaming 
from  dreams  of  everlasting  fire.  Like  Vane,  he  thought 
himself  intrusted  with  the  sceptre  of  the  millennial  year. 
Like  Fleetwood,  he  cried  in  the  bitterness  of  his  soul  that 
God  had  hid  his  face  from  him.  But  when  he  took  his  seat 
in  the  council,  or  girt  on  his  sword  for  war,  these  tempestuous 
workings  of  the  soul  had  left  no  perceptible  trace  behind 
them.  People  who  saw  nothing  of  the  godly  but  their 
uncouth  visages,  and  heard  nothing  from  them  but  their 
groans  and  their  whining  hymns,  might  laugh  at  them.  But 
those  had  little  reason  to  laugh  who  encountered  them  in 
the  hall  of  debate  or  in  the  field  of  battle.  These  fanatics 
brought  to  civil  and  military  affairs  a  coolness  of  judgment 
and  an  immutability  of  purpose  which  some  writers  have 
thought  inconsistent  with    their   religious   zeal,  but  which 


EXPOSITION  BY  ANECDOTE.  135 

were  in  fact  the  necessary  effects  of  it.  The  intensity  of 
their  feelings  on  one  subject  made  them  tranquil  on  every 
other.  One  overpowering  sentiment  had  subjected  to  itself 
pity  and  hatred,  ambition  and  fear.  Death  had  lost  its 
terrors  and  pleasure  its  charms.  They  had  their  smiles  and 
their  tears,  their  raptures  and  their  sorrows,  but  not  for  the 
things  of  this  world.  —  Macaulay  :  Essay  on  Milton. 

Often  the  use  of  concrete  examples,  of  familiar 
instances,  or  of  anecdotes  makes  explanations  clear  and 
vivid.  A  definite  image  is  more  suggestive  than  a 
vague  generality.  The  following  illustrates  the  use 
of  concrete  examples :  — 

Now  let  us  compare  with  the  exact  details  of  Dante  the 
dim  intimations  of  Milton.  We  will  cite  a  few  examples. 
The  English  poet  has  never  thought  of  taking  the  measure 
of  Satan.  He  gives  us  merely  a  vague  idea  of  vast  bulk. 
In  one  passage  the  fiend  lies  stretched  out  huge  in  length, 
floating  many  a  rood,  equal  in  size  to  the  earth-born  enemies 
of  Jove,  or  to  the  sea-monster  which  the  mariner  mistakes 
for  an  island.  When  he  addresses  himself  to  battle  against 
the  guardian  angels,  he  stands  like  Teneriffe  or  Atlas  ;  his 
stature  reaches  the  sky.  Contrast  with  these  descriptions 
the  lines  in  which  Dante  has  described  the  gigantic  spectre 
of  Nimrod.  "  His  face  seemed  to  me  as  long  and  as  broad 
as  the  ball  of  St.  Peter's  at  Some  ;  and  his  other  limbs  were 
in  proportion ;  so  that  the  bank,  which  concealed  him  from 
the  waist  downwards,  nevertheless  showed  so  much  of  him 
that  three  tall  Germans  would  in  vain  have  attempted  to 
reach  his.  hair."  We  are  sensible  that  we  do  no  justice  to 
the  admirable  style  of  the  Florentine  poet.  But  Mr.  Cary's 
translation  is  not  at  hand ;  and  our  version,  however  rude, 
is  sufficient  to  illustrate  our  meaning. 

—  Macaulay  :  Essay  on  Milton. 


136  EXPOSITION. 

In  the  following  passage,  a  familiar  instance  is  used  to 
illustrate  the  thought  :  — 

Hence  of  all  people  children  are  the  most  imaginative. 
They  abandon  themselves  without  reserve  to  every  illusion. 
Every  image  which  is  strongly  presented  to  their  mental 
eye  produces  on  them  the  effect  of  reality.  No  man,  what- 
ever his  sensibility  may  be,  js  ever  affected  by  Hamlet  or 
Lear,  as  a  little  girl  is  affected  by  the  story  of  poor  Red 
Riding-hood.  She  knows  that  it  is  all  false,  that  wolves 
cannot  speak,  that  there  are  no  wolves  in  England.  Yet 
in  spite  of  her  knowledge  she  believes;  she  weeps;  she 
trembles ;  she  dares  not  go  into  a  dark  room  lest  she  should 
feel  the  teeth  of  the  monster  at  her  throat.  Such  is  the 
despotism  of  the  imagination  over  uncultivated  minds. 

—  Macaulav  :  Essay  on  Milton. 

The  use  of  anecdote  is  perhaps  the  most  common 
device  for  clarifying  the  subject.     Note  the  following :  — 

My  worthy  friend,  Sir  Roger,  when  we  are  talking  of  the 
malice  of  parties,  very  frequently  tells  us  an  accident  that 
happened  to  him  when  he  was  a  school-boy,  which  was  at 
a  time  when  the  feuds  ran  high  between  the  Roundheads 
and  Cavaliers.  This  worthy  knight,  being  then  but  a  strip- 
ling, had  occasion  to  inquire  which  was  the  way  to  St.  Anne's 
Lane ;  upon  which  the  person  whom  he  spoke  to,  instead 
of  answering  his  question,  called  him  a  young  popish  cur, 
and  asked  him  who  had  made  Anne  a  saint!  The  boy, 
being  in  some 'confusion,  inquired  of  the  next  he  met,  which 
was  the  way  to  Anne's  Lane;  but  was  called  a  prick-eared 
cur  for  his  pains,  and  instead  of  being  shown  the  way,  was 
told  that  she  had  been  a  saint  before  he  was  born,  and  would 
be  one  after  he  was  hanged.  "  Upon  this,"  says  Sir  Roger, 
"  -I  did  not  think  fit  to  repeat  the  former  question,  but  going 


EXPOSITION  BY  COMPARISON.  137 

into  every  lane  of  the  neighborhood,  asked  what  they 
called  the  name  of  that  lane."  By  which  ingenious  artifice, 
he  found  out  the  place  he  inquired  after  without  giving 
offence  to  any  party.  Sir  Roger  generally  closes  this  narra- 
tive with  reflections  on  the  mischief  that  parties  do  in  the 
country;  how  they  spoil  good  neighborhood,  and  make 
honest  gentlemen  hate  one  another;  besides  that  they 
manifestly  tend  to  the  prejudice  of  the  land-tax,  and  the 
destruction  of  the  game. 

—  Addison:  "  Evils  of  Party  Spirit,"  Spectator,  No.  125. 

In  many  cases,  comparison  and  contrast  are  the  sim- 
plest and  most  attractive  methods  of  enlivening  exposi- 
tion. In  the  following  passage,  the  author  develops 
his  idea  by  the  use  of  comparison :  — 

Your  drums  are  the  blusterers  in  conversation,  that  with 
a  loud  laugh,  unnatural  mirth,  and  a  torrent  for  noise,  domi- 
neer in  public  assemblies,  overbear  men  of  sense,  stun  their 
companions,  and  fill  the  place  they  are  in  with  a  rattling 
sound,  that  hath  seldom  any  wit,  humor,  or  good  breeding 
in  it.  The  drum,  notwithstanding,  by  this  boisterous 
vivacity,  is  very  proper  to  impose  upon  the  ignorant,  and  in 
conversation  with  ladies  who  are  not  of  the  finest  taste  often 
passes  for  a  man  of  mirth  and  wit,  and  for  wonderful  pleas- 
ant company.  I  need  not  observe  that  the  emptiness  of  the 
drum  very  much  contributes  to  its  noise. 

The  lute  is  a  character  directly  opposite  to  the  drum, 
that  sounds  very  finely  by  itself  or  in  a  very  small  concert. 
Its  notes  are  exquisitely  sweet  and  very  low,  easily  drowned 
in  a  multitude  of  instruments,  and  even  lost  among  a  few, 
unless  you  give  a  particular  attention  to  it.  A  lute  is  sel- 
dom heard  in  a  company  of  more  than  five,  whereas  a  drum 
will  show  itself  to  advantage  in  an  assembly  of  five  hundred. 
The  lutanists,  therefore,  are  men  of  a  fine  genius,  uncom- 


138  EXPOSITION. 

mon  reflection,  great  affability,  and  esteemed  chiefly  by  per- 
sons of  a  good  taste,  who  are  the  only  proper  judges  of  so 
delightful  and  soft  a  melody. 


I  must  not  here  omit  the  bagpipe  species,  that  will  enter- 
tain you  from  morning  to  night  with  the  repetition  of  a  few 
notes  which  are  played  over  and  over,  with  the  perpetual 
humming  of  a  drone  running  underneath  them.  These  are 
your  dull,  heavy,  tedious  story-tellers,  the  load  and  burden 
of  conversations,  that  set  up  for  men  of  importance,  by 
knowing  secret  history  and  giving  an  account  of  transac- 
tions, that  whether  they  ever  passed  in  the  world  or  not 
doth  not  signify  an  halfpenny  to  its  instruction  or  its  wel- 
fare. Some  have  observed  that  the  northern  parts  of  this 
island  are  more  particularly  fruitful  in  bagpipes. 

There  are  so  very  few  persons  who  are  masters  in  every 
kind  of  conversation,  and  can  talk  on  all  subjects,  that  I  do 
not  know  whether  we  should  make  a  distinct  species  of 
them ;  nevertheless,  that  my  scheme  may  not  be  defective, 
for  the  sake  of  those  few  who  are  endowed  with  such  extraor- 
dinary talents,  I  shall  allow  them  to  be  harpsichords,  a 
kind  of  music  which  every  one  knows  is  a  concert  by  itself. 
—  Addison  :   "  Characters  in  Conversation,"  Tatler,  No.  153. 

Another  example  illustrates  the  use  of  comparison  in 
the  form  of  strong  contrast  :  — 

But  what  shall  we  say  of  Addison's  humor,  of  his  sense 
of  the  ludicrous,  of  his  power  of  awakening  that  sense  in 
others,  and  of  drawing  mirth  from  incidents  which  occur 
every  day,  and  from  little  peculiarities  of  temper  and  man- 
ner such  as  may  be  found  in  every  man  ?  We  feel  the 
charm ;  we  give  ourselves  up  to  it ;  but  we  strive  in  vain  to 
analyze  it. 


EXPOSITION  BY   CONTRAST.  139 

Perhaps  the  best  way  of  describing  Addison's  peculiar 
pleasantry  is  to  compare  it  with  the  pleasantry  of  some 
other  great  satirists.  The  three  most  eminent  masters  of  the 
art  of  ridicule  during  the  eighteenth  century  were,  we  con- 
ceive, Addison,  Swift,  and  Voltaire.  Which  of  the  three  had 
the  greatest  power  of  moving  laughter  may  be  questioned; 
but   each  of   them,  within  his  own  domain,  was  supreme. 

Voltaire  is  the  prince  of  buffoons.  His  merriment  is 
without  disguise  or  restraint.  He  gambols ;  he  grins ;  he 
shakes  the  sides ;  he  points  the  finger ;  he  turns  up  the  nose  ; 
he  shoots  out  the  tongue.  The  manner  of  Swift  is  the  very 
opposite  to  this.  He  moves  laughter,  but  never  joins  in  it. 
He  appears  in  his  works  such  as  he  appeared  in  society.  All 
the  company  are  convulsed  with  merriment ;  while  the  Dean, 
the  author  of  all  the  mirth,  preserves  an  invincible  gravity 
and  even  sourness  of  aspect,  and  gives  utterance  to  the  most 
eccentric  and  ludicrous  fancies  with  the  air  of  a  man  read- 
ing the  commination  service. 

The  manner  of  Addison  is  as  remote  from  that  of  Swift 
as  from  that  of  Voltaire.  He  neither  laughs  out  like  the 
French  wit,  nor,  like  the  Irish  wit,  throws  a  double  portion 
of  severity  into  his  countenance  while  laughing  inwardly, 
but  preserves  a  look  peculiarly  his  own,  —  a  look  of  demure 
serenity,  disturbed  only  by  an  arch  sparkle  of  the  eye,  an 
almost  imperceptible  elevation  of  the  brow,  an  almost 
imperceptible  curl  of  the  lip.  His  tone  is  never  that  either 
of  a  Jack  Pudding  or  of  a  Cynic.  It  is  that  of  a  gentleman 
in  whom  the  quickest  sense  of  the  ridiculous  is  constantly 
tempered  by  good-nature  and  good-breeding. 

—  Macaulat  :  Essay  on  Addison. 

In  explaining  processes,  the  common  way  is  to  use 
generalized  narration.  If  the  explanation  is  informal, 
the  writer  does  not  need  to  be  concise,  and  nothing  will 


140  EXPOSITION. 

do  more  to  make  explanations  pleasant  reading  than  easy 
transitions  from  one  paragraph  to  another.  If  these 
smooth  connections  are  omitted,  an  explanation  other- 
wise clear  may  be  difficult  to  follow.  Note  the  care- 
ful arrangement  of  ideas  in  the  following  entertaining 
explanation:  — 

In  the  making  of  fires  there  is  as  much  difference  as  in 
the  building  of  houses.  Everything  depends  upon  the  pur- 
pose that  you  have  in  view.  There  is  the  camp  fire,  and  the 
cooking  fire,  and  the  smudge  fire,  and  the  little  friendship 
fire,  —  not  to  speak  of  other  minor  varieties.  Each  of  these 
has  its  own  proper  style  of  architecture,  and  to  mix  them  is 
false  art  and  poor  economy. 

The  object  of  the  camp  fire  is  to  give  heat,  and  incident- 
ally light  to  your  tent  or  shanty.  You  can  hardly  build  this 
kind  of  fire  unless  you  have  a  good  axe  and  know  how  to 
chop.  For  the  first  thing  you  need  is  a  solid  back-log,  the 
thicker  the  better,  to  hold  the  heat  and  reflect  it  into  the 
tent.  This  log  must  not  be  too  dry,  or  it  will  burn  out 
quickly.  Neither  must  it  be  too  damp,  else  it  will  smoulder 
and  discourage  the  fire.  The  best  wood  for  it  is  the  body  of 
a  yellow  birch,  and,  next  to  that,  a  green  balsam.  It  should 
be  five  or  six  feet  long,  and  at  least  two  and  a  half  feet  in 
diameter.  If  you  cannot  find  a  tree  thick  enough,  cut  two 
or  three  lengths  of  a  smaller  one ;  lay  the  thickest  log  on 
the  ground  first  about  ten  or  twelve  feet  in  front  of  the 
tent;  drive  two  strong  stakes  behind  it,  slanting  a  little 
backward ;  and  lay  the  other  logs  on  top  of  the  first,  resting 
against  the  stakes. 

Now  you  are  ready  for  the  hand-chunks,  or  andirons. 
These  are  shorter  sticks  of  wood,  eight  or  ten  inches  thick, 
laid  at  right  angles  to  the  back-log,  four  or  five  feet  apart. 
Across  these  you  are  to  build  up  the  fire-wood  proper. 


EXPOSITION  BY  N All  RATION.  141 

Use  a  dry  spruce  tree,  not  one  that  has  fallen,  but  one 
that  is  dead  and  still  standing,  if  you  want  a  lively,  snap- 
ping fire.  Use  a  hard  maple  or  a  hickory,  if  you  want  a  fire 
that  will  burn  steadily  and  make  few  sparks.  But  if  you 
like  a  fire  to  blaze  up  at  first  with  a  splendid  flame,  and 
then  burn  on  with  an  enduring  heat  far  into  the  night,  a 
young  white  birch  with  the  bark  on  is  the  tree  to  choose. 
Six  or  eight  round  sticks  of  this  laid  across  the  hand- 
chunks,  with  perhaps  a  few  quarterings  of  a  larger  tree, 
will  make  a  glorious  fire. 

But  before  you  put  these  on  you  must  be  ready  to  light 
up.  A  few  splinters  of  dry  spruce  or  pine  or  balsam,  stood 
endwise  against  the  back-log,  or,  better  still,  piled  up  in  a 
pyramid  between  the  hand-chunks ;  a  few  strips  of  birch 
bark ;  and  one  good  match,  —  these  are  all  that  you  want. 
But  be  sure  that  your  match  is  a  good  one.  You  would  bet- 
ter see  to  this  before  you  go  into  the  brush.  Your  comfort, 
even  your  life,  may  depend  on  it. 

In  the  woods  the  old-fashioned  brimstone  match  of  our 
grandfathers  —  the  match  with  a  brown  head  and  a  stout 
stick  and  a  dreadful  smell  —  is  the  best.  But  if  you  have 
only  one,  you  would  better  not  trust  even  that  to  light 
your  fire  directly.  Use  it  first  to  touch  off  a  roll  of  birch 
bark  which  you  hold  in  your  hand.  Then  when  the  bark  is 
well  alight,  crinkling  and  curling,  push  it  under  the  heap  of 
kindlings,  and  give  the  flame  time  to  take  a  good  hold,  and 
lay  your  wood  over  it,  a  stick  at  a  time,  until  the  whole  pile 
is  blazing.  Now  your  fire  is  started.  Your  friendly  little 
gnome  with  the  red  hair  is  ready  to  serve  you  through  the 
night.  —  Van  Dtke  :  Fisherman 's  Luck.  [Copyright,  1899,  1905, 
by  Charles  Scribner's  Sons.     Used  by  permission.] 

Purpose  in  Exposition.  —  The  general  tone  or  style  of 
an  expository  composition  is  regulated  by  the  purpose 


142  EXPOSITION. 

for  which  the  explanation  is  intended.  Purely  scien- 
tific exposition  demands  clearness,  conciseness,  and 
accuracy.  Literary  exposition,  on  the  other  hand,  re- 
flects the  mood  of  the  writer ;  it  may  be  serious,  fan- 
ciful, or  playful. 

EXERCISE. 

Examine  carefully  the  following  paragraphs.  In  each  case, 
what  seems  to  be  the  purpose  of  the  author  —  to  instruct,  to 
entertain,  or  to  sway  the  feelings?  Can  you  discern  his  mood? 
Notice  the  initial  sentence,  the  development  of  the  topic,  and  the 
concluding  sentence.  In  which  cases  does  the  author  use  concrete 
facts?  Contrasts?  Comparisons?  Repetitions?  Summary?  To 
what  extent  has  the  author  developed  the  thought?  Does  the  last 
sentence  in  each  case  show  that  the  thought  has  advanced? 

There  are  men  of  esprit  who  are  excessively  exhausting 
to  some  people.  They  are  the  talkers  who  have  what  may 
be  called  jerky  minds.  Their  thoughts  do  not  run  in  the 
natural  order  of  sequence.  They  say  bright  things  on  all 
possible  subjects,  but  their  zigzags  rack  you  to  death.  After 
a  jolting  half-hour  with  one  of  these  jerky  companions,  talk- 
ing with  a  dull  friend  affords  great  relief.  It  is  like  taking 
the  cat  in  your  lap  after  holding  a  squirrel.  What  a  com- 
fort a  dull,  but  kindly  person  is,  to  be  sure,  at  times!  A 
ground-glass  shade  over  a  gas-lamp  does  not  bring  more 
solace  to  our  dazzled  eyes  than  such  a  one  to  our  minds. 
—  Holmes:   The  Autocrat  of  the  Breakfast-Table,  Chapter  i. 

We  would  speak  first  of  the  Puritans,  the  most  remark- 
able body  of  men,  perhaps,  which  the  world  has  ever  pro- 
duced. The  odious  and  ridiculous  parts  of  their  character 
lie  on  the  surface.  He  that  runs  may  read  them  ;  nor  have 
there  been  wanting  attentive  and  malicious  observers  to 
point  them  out.  For  many  years  after  the  Restoration  they 
were  the  theme  of  unmeasured  invective  and  derision.     They 


PURPOSE  IN   EXPOSITION.  143 

were  exposed  to  the  utmost  licentiousness  of  the  press  and 
of  the  stage,  at  the  time  when  the  press  and  the  stage  were 
most  licentious.  They  were  not  men  of  letters  ;  they  were, 
as  a  body,  unpopular;  they  could  not  defend  themselves; 
and  the  public  would  not  take  them  under  its  protection. 
They  were  therefore  abandoned,  without  reserve,  to  the 
tender  mercies  of  the  satirists  and  dramatists.  The  ostenta- 
tious simplicity  of  their  dress,  their  sour  aspect,  their  nasal 
twang,  their  stiff  posture,  their  long  graces,  their  Hebrew 
names,  the  Scriptural  phrases  which  they  introduced  on 
every  occasion,  their  contempt  of  human  learning,  their 
detestation  of  polite  amusements,  were  indeed  fair  game 
for  the  laughers.  But  it  is  not  from  the  laughers  alone 
that  the  philosophy  of  history  is  to  be  learned.  And  he 
who  approaches  this  subject  should  carefully  guard  against 
the  influence  of  that  potent  ridicule  which  has  already 
misled  so  many  excellent  writers. 

—  Macaulat  :  Essay  on  Milton. 

Under  a  lighter  disguise,  the  same  principle  of  Love, 
which  we  have  recognized  as  the  great  characteristic  of 
Burns,  and  of  all  true  poets,  occasionally  manifests  itself  in 
the  shape  of  Humor.  Everywhere,  indeed,  in  his  sunny 
moods,  a  full  buoyant  flood  of  mirth  rolls  through  the  mind 
of  Burns ;  he  rises  to  the  high,  and  stoops  to  the  low,  and 
is  brother  and  playmate  to  all  Nature.  We  speak  not  of  his 
bold  and  often  irresistible  faculty  of  caricature  ;  for  this  is 
Drollery  rather  than  Humor :  but  a  much  tenderer  sport- 
fulness  dwells  in  him ;  and  comes  forth  here  and  there,  in 
evanescent  and  beautiful  touches ;  as  in  his  Address  to  the 
Mouse,  or  the  Fanner's  Mare,  or  in  his  Elegy  on  poor  Mailie; 
which  last  may  be  reckoned  his  happiest  effort  of  this  kind. 
In  these  pieces  there  are  traits  of  a  Humor  as  fine  as  that 
of  Sterne;  yet  altogether  different,  original,  peculiar, — the 
Humor  of  Burns.  — Caklyle  :  Essay  on  Bums. 


144  EXPOSITION. 

The  civilized  man  has  built  a  coach,  but  has  lost  the  use 
of  his  feet.  He  is  supported  on  crutches,  but  loses  so  much 
support  of  muscle.  He  has  got  a  fine  Geneva  watch,  but  he 
has  lost  the  skill  to  tell  the  hour  by  the  sun.  A  Greenwich 
nautical  almanac  he  has,  as  so  being  sure  of  the  information 
when  it  wants  it,  the  man  in  the  street  does  not  know  a  star 
in  the  sky.  The  solstice  he  does  not  observe ;  the  equinox 
lie  knows  as  little ;  and  the  whole  bright  calendar  of  the 
year  is  without  a  dial  in  his  mind.  His  note-books  impair 
his  memory;  his  libraries  overload  his  wit;  the  insurance 
office  increases  the  number  of  accidents ;  and  it  may  be  a 
question  whether  machinery  does  not  encumber;  whether 
we  have  not  lost  by  refinement  some  energy,  by  a  Chris- 
tianity intrenched  in  establishments  and  forms,  some  vigor 
of  wild  virtue.  For  every  Stoic  was  a  Stoic ;  but  in  Chris- 
tendom, where  is  the  Christian  ? 

—  Emerson:  Essay  on  Self-Beliance. 

A  Good  Conclusion.  —  If  the  subject  should  be  concluded 
abruptly,  the  reader  may  reasonably  wonder  whether 
or  not  enough  has  been  said.  It  is  well,  therefore,  for 
the  writer  to  indicate  briefly  that  he  has  finished  what 
he  set  out  to  accomplish.  Some  statement  may  be  made 
which  covers  the  subject  as  a  whole,  not  enumerating 
all  the  details  mentioned,  but  concisely  summarizing 
the  author's  point  of  view. 

The  following  passage  is  the  conclusion  of  an  essay 
on  two  men  of  letters,  Irving  and  Macaulay  :  — 

If  any  young  man  of  letters  reads  this  little  sermon,  — 
and  to  him,  indeed,  it  is  addressed,  —  I  would  say  to  him, 
"  Bear  Scott's  words  in  your  mind,  and  'be  good,  my  dear.''  " 
Here  are  two  literary  men  gone  to  their  account,  and,  laus 
Deo,  as  far  as  we  know,  it  is  fair,  and  open,  and  clean. 
Here  is  no  need  of  apologies  for  shortcomings,  or  explana- 


A    GOOD   CONCLUSION.  145 

tions  of  vices  which  would  have  been  virtues  but  for  un- 
avoidable &c.  Here  are  two  examples  of  men  most  differ- 
ently gifted  :  each  pursuing  his  calling  ;  each  speaking  his 
truth  as  God  bade  him ;  each  honest  in  his  life ;  just  and 
irreproachable  in  his  dealings  ;  dear  to  his  friends  ;  honored 
by  his  country  ;  beloved  at  his  fireside.  It  lias  been  the 
fortunate  lot  of  both  to  give  incalculable  happiness  and 
delight  to  the  world,  which  thanks  them  in  return  with  an 
immense  kindliness,  respect,  affection.  It  may  not  be  our 
chance,  brother  scribe,  to  be  endowed  with  such  merit,  or 
rewarded  with  such  fame.  But  the  rewards  of  these  men 
are  rewards  paid  to  our  service.  We  may  not  win  the  baton 
or  epaulettes ;  but  God  give  us  strength  to  guard  the  honor 
of  the  flag  !  — Thackeray  :  "Nil  Nisi  Bouum,"  Roundabout  Papers. 

In  the  following  conclusion,  the  author  sums  up  his 
estimate  of  Burns  :  — 

With  our  readers  in  general,  with  men  of  right  feeling 
anywhere,  we  are  not  required  to  plead  for  Burns.  In  pity- 
ing admiration  he  lies  enshrined  in  all  our  hearts,  in  a  far 
nobler  mausoleum  than  that  one  of  marble ;  neither  will  his 
works,  even  as  they  are,  pass  away  from  the  memory  of 
men.  While  the  Shakespeares  and  Miltons  roll  on  like 
mighty  rivers  through  the  country  of  Thought,  bearing  fleets 
of  traffickers  and  assiduous  pearl-fishers  on  their  waves, 
this  little  Valclusa1  fountain  will  also  arrest  our  eye  :  for 
this  also  is  of  nature's  own  and  most  cunning  workmanship, 
bursts  from  the  depths  of  the  earth  with  a  full,  gushing  cur- 
rent into  the  light  of  day  ;  and  often  will  the  traveller  turn 
aside  to  drink  of  its  clear  waters  and  muse  among  its  rocks 
and  pines  !  —  Carlyle  :  Essay  on  Burns. 

i  The   romantic  valley  near  Avignon  whither  the  Italian  poet    and 
scholar,  Francesco  Petrarca,  retired,  in  1338,  for  some  years.     The  paral-. 
lei  suggested  is  hetween  the  lasting  fame  of  Petrarch's  sonnets  to  Laura, 
and  that  predicted  for  Burns'  songs. 


146  EXPOSITION. 


EXERCISE  IN  EXPOSITION,  FOR  GENERAL  PRACTICE. 

Write  a  short  composition  of  two  or  three  pages  on  one  of  the 
following  general  terms :  — 

The  Postman.  The  Dative  Case. 

The  Professor.  The  Democrat  of  To-day. 

The  Volcano.  The  Metric  System. 

The  Iceman.  The  Ablative  Absolute. 

School  Life.  The  Locomotive. 

The  Lamplighter.  The  Automobile. 

Beadwork.  The  Republican  of  To-day. 

The  Classical  Course  in  your  School. 

The  Tory  of  Queen  Anne's  Time. 

The  Whig  of  Queen  Anne's  Time. 

The  Desert  of  the  Sahara. 

Explain  one  of  the  following  processes.  Your  composition  will 
have  an  added  interest  if  your  exposition  shows  that  you  have 
had  personal  experience.  Cast  your  explanation  in  any  form  you 
wish. 

How  to  hunt  Rabbits.  How  to  learn  to  Skate. 

How  to  flush  Quail.  How  to  make  a  Fire. 

How  to  shoot  Ducks.  How  to  play  Basket-ball. 

How  to  play  Golf.  How  to  make  Fudge. 

How  to  amuse  Small  Children  Indoors. 

How  to  develop  Photographs. 

How  to  teach  a  Small  Boy  to  swim. 

How  to  make  a  Class  in  English  study. 

Imagine  yourself  editor-in-chief  of  a  school  paper.  How  many 
departments  would  you  have  in  the  paper,  and  what  would  you 
name  them? 

Draw  up  a  general  plan  for  a  Christmas  number  of  a  school 
paper.  Indicate  definite  titles  for  articles  that  you  would  like 
to  have  written  for  your  literary  department  by  pupils  in  the 
school. 


EXERCISE  IN  EXPOSITION.  147 

Think  of  an  epigrammatic  sentence,  or  find  an  appropriate  quo- 
tation, for  a  toast  on  any  one  of  the  following  subjects  :  — 

Our  Faculty.  Our  Mothers. 

Our  School.  Our  Fathers. 

Our  Friends.  Our  State. 

Our  Town  or  City.  Our  Country. 

Example:  —  "Our  Country!     May  she  always  be  in  the  right ; 
but  right  or  wrong,  our  Country  1" —  Stephen  Decatur. 

Write  a  response  to  any  one  of  these  toasts. 

Sometimes,  at  a  banquet  given  in  his  honor,  a  public 
officer  or  a  popular  candidate  will  respond  to  a  complimen- 
tary toast  in  a  long  speech  declaratory  of  political  prin- 
ciples, or  deeds,  or  purposes.  But  upon  ordinary  occasions, 
a  speech  preliminary  or  responsive  to  a  toast  should  be  brief, 
—  three  minutes  about  the  limit.  A  good  anecdote  aptly 
applied  adds  to  the  entertainment,  and  an  easy  delivery 
contributes  to  the  pleasure  of  the  listeners. 

EXERCISE  IN  EXPOSITION  -  LITERARY  SUBJECTS. 

State  the  central  thought  of  Silas  Marner  and  give  two  reasons 
for  your  answer. 

What  is  the  main  teaching  of  The  Ancient  Mariner  ?  Show  how 
the  incidents  of  the  plot  bring  out  the  central  teaching. 

Contrast  the  historical  setting  of  Ivanhoe  with  that  of  Julius 
Cwsar. 

What  do  you  think  was  Scott's  purpose  in  writing  Ivanhoe1? 
Give  a  reason  for  your  answer. 

Make  a  set  of  rules  such  as  you  think  Robin  Hood  would  have 
given  to  his  band. 

Name  at  least  three  ways  in  which  the  England  of  Ivanhoe 
differed  from  the  England  of  to-day. 

Mention  three  important  differences  between  Epic  and  Dramatic 
poetry  as  illustrated  in  the  Idylls  of  the  King  and  Julius  Ccesar. 


148  EXPOSITION. 

Point  out  what  seem  to  you  four  essential  characteristics  of  the 
masque  Comus  as  distinguished  from  a  drama  like  Julius  Caesar 
or  the  Merchant  of  Venice. 

Contrast  Shakespeare's  way  of  making  us  acquainted  with 
Hamlet  with  Tennyson's  way  of  making  us  acquainted  with  King 
Arthur. 

What  was  the  organization  and  purpose  of  the  Round  Table? 

What  is  the  plan  of  the  Idylls  of  the  King  ? 

Which  do  you  think  is  the  most  beautiful  of  the  Idylls  of  the 
King  ?     Why  ? 

Devoting  but  a  sentence  or  two  to  each,  give  Sir  Roger  de 
Coverley's  views  on  the  following  topics :  — 

His  friend,  the  Spectator.  Hunting. 

Witches.  Family  Portraits. 

Whigs.  Gypsies. 

Against  what  class  of  people  was  each  of  the  following  papers 
directed,  and  what  evil  of  the  time  was  each  designed  to  correct? 

Sir  Roger  Moralizes,  or  Wit  vs.  Maimers. 
Will  Wimble. 

Florio  and  Leonilla,  or  the  Education  of  an  Heir. 
The  Stage  Coach. 

Explain  the  thought  in  the  following  :  — 

We  must  be  as  courteous  to  a  man  as  we  are  to  a  picture, 
which  we  are  willing  to  give  the  advantage  of  a  good  light. 

—  Emerson  :  Essay  on  Behavior. 

I  am  a  part  of  all  that  I  have  met. 

—  Tennyson  :   Ulysses. 

Ah !  but  a  man's  reach  should  exceed  his  grasp, 
Or  what's  a  heaven  for  ? 

—  Robert  Browning  :  Andrea  Del  Sarto. 


EXERCISE  IN  EXPOSITION.  149 

Write  upon  one  of  the  following  subjects:  — 

Brutus  and  Arthur  as  Heroes. 

Arthur  and  Ivanhoe  as  Knights. 

Arthur,  a  Faultless  King. 

Horatio,  a  Good  Friend. 

Hamlet  —  Insane  or  Feigning  ? 

Cedric,  a  Stanch  Saxon. 

Portia  as  a  Lawyer. 

Brutus  and  Antony  —  Friends  of  Rome. 

The   Spectator  as  seen  through  the  Eyes  of  the  Country 

Folk. 
My  Favorite  —  of  the  authors  studied  this  year. 
Why  I  prefer  IJ  Allegro  to  II  Penseroso  —  or  vice  versa. 

Explain  by  illustration  what  each  of  the  following  statements 
suggests  to  you  :  — 

A  general  trader  of  good  sense  is  pleasanter  company 
than  a  general  scholar. 

—  "  Sir  Roger  de  Coverley  Papers,"  Spectator,  No.  2. 

There  are  some  opinions  in  which  a  man  should  stand 
neuter,  without  engaging  his  assent  to  one  side  or  the  other. 

—  "  Sir  Roger  de  Coverley  Papers,"  Spectator,  No.  117. 

There  is  no  ordinary  part  of  human  life  which  expresseth 
so.  much  a  good  mind  and  a  right  inward  man,  as  his 
behavior  upon  meeting  with  strangers. 

—  "  Sir  Roger  de  Coverley  Papers,"  Spectator,  No.  132. 

Expand  each  of  the  following  topical  sentences  into  a  coherent 
paragraph  of  not  less  than  twenty-five  lines  :  — 

The  Spectator  himself  was  conceived  and  drawn  by 
Addison ;  and  it  is  not  easy  to  doubt  that  the  portrait 
was  meant  to  be  in  some  features  a  likeness  of  the  painter. 

—  Macaulay  :  Essay  on  Addison. 


150  EXPOSITION. 

We  may  venture  to  say,  on  the  contrary,  paradoxical  as 
the  remark  may  appear,  that  no  poet  has  ever  had  to 
struggle  with  more  unfavorable  circumstances  than  Milton. 

—  Macaulay  :  Essay  on  Milton. 

Point  out  the  parallelisms  in  the  two  poems,  L' Allegro  and  II 
Penseroso,  as  regards  beginning  and  conclusion  ;  also  the  attitude 
toward  music,  study,  drama,  and  recreation. 

EXERCISE  IN  ELABORATED  EXPOSITION,  ON  SUBJECTS 
SELECTED   OUTSIDE   OF  BOOKS. 

Discriminate,  by  informal  definition,  some  of  the  following  pairs 
of  words  :  — 

Work  and  Exercise.  Pity  and  Sympathy. 

Fan  and  Sjiort.  Wisdom  and  Knowledge. 

Conversation  and  Talking.  News  and  Gossip. 

Culture  and  Polish.  Thought  and  Feeling. 

Write  two  or  three  paragraphs  on  any  one  of  the  following 
topics,  showing  points  of  difference  in  the  ideas  contrasted  :  — 

Formal  and  Informal  Calls. 
Eeal  Poetry  and  Sham  Poetry. 
Games  of  Skill  and  Games  of  Chance. 
The  Waltz  and  the  Two-Step. 

Explain,  by  elaborated  definition,  the  following  terms  :  — 

A  School  Diploma.  Slang. 

Good  Breeding.  "Dig." 

Charitable  Judgment.  "  Stunt." 

School  Loyalty.  «  Graft." 

Write  a  generalized  description  of  some  of  the  following 
subjects  :  — 

The  City  Back  Yard. 

The  Country  Store. 

The  College  Girl's  Room. 

Sunday  in  the  Country. 


CRITICISM.  151 

Criticism. — Another  form  of  exposition  is  criticism. 
This  is  an  advanced  kind  of  composition,  in  that  it 
requires  thoughtful  expression  of  taste  and  judgment. 
As  applied  to  books,  it  presupposes  discriminating 
appreciation  of  the  beauties  and  excellences  of  good 
literature.  The  aim  of  book  reviews  is  not  to  give 
bare  statements  of  personal  preference,  but  to  analyze 
the  character  of  the  books  under  consideration. 

The  subjects  for  critical  reviews  are  not  limited,  how- 
ever, to  books.  Critical  reports  of  concerts,  of  oratori- 
cal contests,  or  of  discussions  in  important  assemblies, 
call  for  careful  use  of  the  judgment  as  well  as  orderly 
arrangement  of  material.  In  general,  a  well-constructed 
review  should  contain  a  concise  statement  as  to  the 
subject  to  be  considered  ;  then  the  subject  should  be 
explained  in  detail  ;  finally,  the  review  should  clearly 
set  forth  the  reasons  for  praise  or  for  censure. 

How  to  write  a  Book  Review. — A  good  book  review 
should  suggest  the  relative  importance  of  the  book  in 
question  ;  it  should  give  a  brief  summary  of  the  subject- 
matter  covered  ;  and,  most  important  of  all,  it  should 
include  the  comments  of  the  reviewer  on  the  book. 
The  first  part  may  state  why  the  book  deserves  notice, 
and  may  also  suggest  its  general  purpose.  The  sum- 
mary requires  skill  in  concise  narration  or  exposition  ; 
for  instance,  if  the  book  is  a  story,  the  setting  and 
the  main  events  should  be  indicated.  If,  however,  the 
work  to  be  reviewed  is  an  essay,  a  brief  statement  of 
the  author's  general  plan  in  developing  his  subject 
should  be  given.  The  critical  part  of  the  review  is 
open   to   the    greatest    variety    of   treatment :   it   may 


152  EXPOSITION. 

include  a  grouping  and  contrasting  of  characters  ;  it 
may  refer  to  striking  points  in  the  book  ;  or  it  may 
comment  on  geographical  or  social  background  ;  it  may 
also  make  mention  of  errors,  but  it  should  by  all  means 
call  attention  to  points  of  excellence.  In  fact,  it  should 
give  a  just  estimate  of  the  book. 

One  of  the  best-known  book  reviews  is  that  of 
Macaulay  upon  Southey's  edition  of  the  Pilgrim  s  Prog- 
ress. The  review  begins  with  a  notice  of  the  engravings 
of  the  book.  Some  of  these  are  complimented,  others 
are  not.  Indeed,  considerable  space  is  given  to  a  sharp 
criticism  upon  the  work  of  one  artist.  The  writer 
then  comes  to  the  subject-matter  of  the  book  itself. 
He  begins  :  — 

"  The  characteristic  peculiarity  of  the  Pilgrim's  Progress 
is,  that  it  is  the  only  work  of  the  kind  which  possesses  a 
strong  human  interest.  Other  allegories  only  amuse  the 
fancy ;  the  allegory  of  Bunyan  has  been  read  by  thousands 
with  tears." 

The  reviewer  then  goes  on  to  specify  the  different 
well-known  allegories,  —  The  Vision  of  Mirza.  The  Con- 
test between  Rest  and  Pleasure,  The  Faerie  Queene,  — 
and  compares  them  to  the  Pilgrim  s  Progress.  He 
continues  :  — 

"  Dr.  Johnson,  all  whose  studies  were  desultory  and  who 
hated,  as  he  said,  to  read  books  through,  made  an  exception 
in  favor  of  the  Pilgrim's  Progress.  That  work,  he  said,  was 
one  of  the  two  or  three  which  he  wished  longer.  ...  In 
the  wildest  parts  of  Scotland  the  Pilgrim's  Progress  is  the 
delight  of  the  peasantry.  In  every  nursery  it  is  a  greater 
favorite  than  Jack  the  Giant- Killer.      Every  reader  knows 


A    BOOK   REVIEW.  153 

the  straight  and  narrow  path  as  well  as  he  knows  a  road  in 
which  he  has  gone  backward  and  forward  a  hundred  times. 
This  is  the  highest  miracle  of  genius,  that  things  which 
are  not  should  be  as  though  they  were ;  that  the  imagina- 
tions of  one  mind  should  become  the  personal  recollections 
of  another.  And  this  miracle  the  tinker  has  wrought.  The 
wicket  gate  and  the  desolate  swamp  which  separates  it  from 
the  City  of  Destruction ;  the  long  line  of  road,  as  straight 
as  a  rule  can  make  it ;  the  Interpreter's  house,  and  all  its 
fair  shows ;  the  prisoner  in  the  iron  cage ;  the  palace,  at 
the  doors  of  which  armed  men  kept  guard,  and  on  the  bat- 
tlements of  which  walked  persons  clothed  all  in  gold ;  the 
cross  and  the  sepulchre ;  the  steep  hill  and  the  pleasant 
arbor ;  the  stately  front  of  the  House  Beautiful  by  the  way- 
side ;  the  low  green  valley  of  Humiliation,  rich  with  grass 
and  covered  with  flocks,  all  are  as  well  known  to  us  as  the 
sights  of  our  own  street." 

In  this  way  the  reviewer  recounts  the  story  to  the 
end  of  the  book.     He  then  continues :  — 

"We  follow  the  travellers  through  their  allegorical  progress 
with  interest  not  inferior  to  that  with  which  we  follow  Eliz- 
abeth from  Siberia  to  Moscow,  or  Jeanie  Deans  from  Edin- 
burgh to  London.  Banyan  is  almost  the  only  writer  that 
ever  gave  to  the  abstract  the  interest  of  the  concrete.  .  .  . 
The  Pilgrim's  Progress  undoubtedly  is  not  a  perfect  alle- 
gory. The  types  are  often  inconsistent  with  each  other, 
and  sometimes  the  allegorical  disguise  is  altogether  thrown 
off.  But  we  do  not  believe  that  any  man.  whatever  might 
be  his  genius,  could  long  continue  a  figurative  history  with- 
out falling  into  many  inconsistencies.  The  best  thing,  on 
the  whole,  that  an  allegorist  can  do,  is  to  present  to  his 
readers  a  succession  of  analogies,  each  of  which  may  sepa- 
rately be  striking  and  happy,  without  looking  very  nicely 


154  EXPOSITION. 

to  see  whether  they  harmonize  with  each  other.  This  Ban- 
yan has  done,  and.  the  effect  which  the  tale  produces  on  all 
persons,  learned  and  unlearned,  proves  that  he  has  done 
it  well." 

EXERCISE. 

Write  a  review  of  any  one  of  the  books  in  the  list  of  college 
entrance  requirements. 

Write  a  review  commending  a  popular  play,  and  another 
severely  condemning  the  same. 

Give  an  account  of  one  of  your  favorite  books.  Tell  the  cir- 
cumstances under  which  you  first  read  it,  and  indicate  the  reasons 
that  make  the  book  attractive. 

Give  a  critical  account  of  a  school  debate. 

Write  a  report  of  a  recitation. 

Write  a  report  of  a  concert,  for  a  daily  newspaper. 

Give  a  critical  account  of  a  game  of  foot-ball,  showing  why 
victory  went  to  one  side  and  defeat  to  the  other. 

Write  an  account  of  a  lecture  that  you  have  heard. 

Give  a  report  of  a  sermon,  showing  why  it  was  impressive  or 
otherwise. 

Give  an  account  of  a  club  meeting  of  some  kind,  adding  criti- 
cisms. 

School  Essays  and  School  Orations.  —  The  school  essay 
and  the  school  oration  are  alike,  in  that  each  represents 
a  short  but  complete  discussion  of  the  author's  views 
on  a  definite  subject.  The  preparation  of  either  de- 
mands from  the  pupil  most  careful  reflection.  He  may 
understand  all  the  laws  of  exposition  in  regard  to  the 
presentation,  but  the  real  task  remains  :  he  must  have 
thoughts  to  present. 


THE   THEME.  155 

The  Theme.  —  First  of  all,  the  pupil  must  find  a  sub- 
ject suited  to  his  liking.  If  he  is  so  unfortunate 
as  to  try  one  that  does  not  especially  interest  him,  he 
can  scarcely  hope,  in  presenting  it,  to  interest  others. 
Moreover,  if  after  reflection  he  believes  that  his  is  the 
right  point  of  view,  his  words  will  carry  the  ring  of 
sincerity,  which  goes  a  long  way  in  winning  the  con- 
siderate attention  of  reader  or  listener. 

After  he  has  selected  his  subject,  the  writer  should 
think  of  the  various  points  of  view  from  which  it  may 
be  regarded,  and  then  determine  which  of  these  views 
is  most  inviting  to  him.  For  instance,  the  general 
subject  "  Lawn  Tennis  "  might  attract  his  fancy.  As 
he  reflects,  it  may  occur  to  him  that  the  subject  might 
be  treated  from  a  technical  point  of  view,  with  the 
purpose  of  emphasizing  the  scientific  way  of  playing 
the  game.  Again,  it  might  be  treated  historically,  by 
setting  forth  the  origin  of  the  game,  and  the  various 
changes  that  have  come  about  with  time.  Then  it  may 
occur  to  him  that  compared  with  modern  out-door 
games,  lawn  tennis  is  best  of  all.  It  calls  into  play 
many  muscles,  without  unnatural  strain.  It  offers 
almost  no  risks  of  injury  to  the  body.  It  furnishes 
opportunity  for  forethought,  skill,  and  agility.  It  is  a 
pretty  game  to  watch.  Having  no  time  limits,  it  is  not 
a  strain  on  the  nervous  system,  like  basket-ball  and 
foot-ball ;  on  the  contrary,  it  has  the  advantage  of 
giving  an  opportunity  for  social  intercourse ;  at  the 
same  time,  the  score  so  frequently  reaches  a  critical 
point,  that  often  the  game  becomes  very  exciting. 
Some  such  line  of  reasoning  may  lead  the  writer  to 
form  the  definite  purpose  of  showing  that  lawn  tennis 
is  an  ideal  out-door  game. 


156  EXPOSITION. 

A  part  of  his  work  in  constructing  his  plan  will  be  to 
reject  those  thoughts  that  do  not  bear  directly  on  his 
purpose.  Unless  the  theme  or  qualified  subject  be 
constantly  borne  in  mind,  he  will  be  liable  to  ramble 
aimlessly.  Hence  his  readers  cannot  easily  follow  the 
trend  of  his  thought.  In  planning  a  composition, 
nothing  else  is  quite  so  important  as  the  grouping  of 
thoughts  around  one  central  idea  —  the  theme.  Such 
planning  gives  to  the  whole  composition  the  essential 
quality  of  effective  discourse,  the  quality  of  unity. 

Arrangement  of  Material.  —  The  next  principles  to  be 
considered  in  the  working  out  of  the  theme  are  those 
that  govern  mass  and  coherence.  Mass  has  to  do  with 
the  nice  arrangement  of  material ;  it  makes  the  writer 
pause  to  consider  how  he  should  approach  his  subject 
in  the  beginning,  at  what  point  he  can  most  effectively 
leave  it,  and  how  he  shall  arrange  the  proportions  of  his 
work.  Coherence  requires  that  the  connection  between 
successive  parts  of  the  composition  be  unmistakable. 
If  the  writer  masses  his  material  judiciously,  he  will 
place  near  the  end  that  part  which  deserves  distinction. 
Other  topics  will  be  more  or  less  emphasized  according 
to  the  number  of  paragraphs  he  devotes  to  them  and 
the  degree  of  emotion  he  expends  in  developing  them. 
Coherence,  the  second  principle  which  has  to  do  with 
arrangement,  is  secured  by  logical  sequence  and  a  skil- 
ful use  of  transitional  phrases. 

The  Beginning.  —  The  theme  is  usually  announced  at 
the  beginning.  But  occasionally  the  writer  has  reasons 
for  withholding  it.     Sometimes,  at  the  outset,  he  may 


A    SCHOOL    ORATION.  l-r)7 

allude  to  the  occasion  that  has  called  forth  the  compo- 
sition ;  or  he  may  clear  away  false  notions  of  the  sub- 
ject. Another  way,  one  most  common,  is  to  begin  by 
denning  the  limits  of  the  subject  to  be  discussed. 

The  End.  —  It  is  a  safe  rule  for  the  beginner  to  re- 
state the  theme,  at  the  end,  in  a  form  either  fuller  and 
more  explicit,  or  shorter  and  more  epigrammatic  than 
the  form  in  which  it  appeared  at  the  beginning.  A 
concise  summary  is  of  no  value  in  a  conclusion,  unless 
it  reveals  a  distinct  climax,  which  may  be  effective  if  it 
suggests  unmistakably  the  point  toward  which  the  dis- 
cussion has  been  leading. 

How  to  write  a  School  Oration.  —  The  general  plan  of 
an  oration  is  the  same  as  that  of  an  essay  ;  but  there 
exists  a  subtle  difference  between  the  two  which  grows 
out  of  the  fact  that  one  is  to  be  read,  while  the  other 
is  to  be  spoken.  The  essay  assumes  a  reader  with 
ample  time  to  re-read,  consider,  compare,  and  reflect ; 
the  oration  implies  an  audience  which  must  be  won, 
whose  attention  must  be  arrested  and  held,  which  is 
easily  bored,  and  which  demands  that  a  speaker  shall 
have  something  to  say.  The  value  of  an  oration  de- 
pends upon  the  speaker's  power  to  put  his  thought  into 
fitting  words,  to  free  it  from  all  dead  weight,  to  make 
every  word  alive  with  meaning,  and  never  to  use  one 
word  more  than  he  needs.  This  does  not  mean  that 
the  orator  should  never  repeat  his  words  ;  he  frequently 
does  repeat  them  again  and  again,  but  he  should  do 
so  for  a  definite  purpose,  —  either  for  clearness  or  for 
emphasis. 


158  EXPOSITION. 

Length  of  a  School  Oration.  —  A  school  oration  should 
be  short.  Seven  or  eight  hundred  words  are  ample ; 
one  thousand  should  be  the  extreme  limit.  More  than 
that  wearies  an  audience,  and  a  wearied  audience  is 
never  an  appreciative  one.  An  oration  does  not  need 
to  be  long  in  order  to  be  effective.  Lincoln's  Gettys- 
burg speech  contains  but  two  hundred  and  sixty-six 
words,  and  it  is  considered  the  most  notable  oration 
produced  in  this  country  during  the  latter  half  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  It  was  delivered  at  the  dedication 
of  the  National  Cemetery,  Gettysburg,  Pennsylvania, 
November  19,  1863  :  — 

Fourscore  and  seven  years  ago,  our  fathers  brought  forth 
on  this  continent  a  new  nation,  conceived  in  liberty,  and 
dedicated  to  the  proposition  that  all  men  are  created  equal. 
Now  we  are  engaged  in  a  great  civil  war,  testing  whether 
that  nation,  or  any  nation  so  conceived  and  so  dedicated, 
can  long  endure.  We  are  met  on  a  great  battle-field  of  that 
war.  We  have  come  to  dedicate  a  portion  of  that  field  as  a 
final  resting-place  for  those  who  here  gave  their  lives  that 
that  nation  might  live.  It  is  altogether  fitting  and  proper 
that  we  should  do  this.  But  in  a  larger  sense  we  cannot 
dedicate,  we  cannot  consecrate,  we  cannot  hallow  this 
ground.  The  brave  men,  living  and  dead,  who  struggled 
here,  have  consecrated  it  far  above  our  poor  power  to  add  or 
to  detract.  The  world  will  little  note,  nor  long  remember 
what  we  say  here,  but  it  can  never  forget  what  they  did 
here.  It  is  for  us,  the  living,  rather  to  be  dedicated  here  to 
the  unfinished  work  which  they  who  fought  here  have  thus 
far  so  nobly  advanced.  It  is  rather  for  us  to  be  here  dedi- 
cated to  the  great  task  remaining  before  us,  —  that  from 
these  honored  dead  we  take  increased  devotion  to  that  cause 
for  which  they  gave  the  last  full  measure  of  devotion,  — 


THE  LAW  OF  LANGUAGE.  159 

that  we  here  highly  resolve  that  these  dead  shall  not  have 
died  in  vain,  —  that  this  nation,  under  God,  shall  have  a  new 
birth  of  freedom,  —  and  that  government  of  the  people,  by 
the  people,  for  the  people,  shall  not  perish  from  the  earth. 

The  Law  of  Language.  —  An  orator  should  always 
consider  his  audience,  and  his  language  should  be  such 
as  they  can  understand.  For  any  audience  the  simplest 
words  that  will  express  the  thought  are  best.  Simple, 
direct  sentences  and  clear,  straightforward  paragraphs 
are  best.  An  orator  should  marshal  his  sentences  as 
if  they  were  soldiers,  —  in  orderly  lines  —  in  balanced 
positions  —  he  should  hurl  them  into  climaxes  —  align 
them  into  periods.  Here  and  there  they  may  advance 
in  regular  order,  but  that  is  only  that  they  may  take  up 
later  a  commanding  position  and  carry  the  burden  of 
the  thought. 

The  length  of  the  theme  limits  the  number  of  ideas 
that  it  can  express.  One  central  thought  clearly  and 
symmetrically  developed  is  much  better  than  two  or 
three  vaguely  or  carelessly  treated.  An  oration  should 
consist  of  an  introduction,  the  development  of  the 
central  thought,  the  climax,  and  the  conclusion. 

The  End  of  an  Oration.  —  After  the  climax,  the  end 
should  come  as  soon  as  the  symmetry  of  the  composition 
will  permit.  An  inability  to  stop  is  a  curious  idiosyn- 
crasy of  many  speakers.  Many  persons  who  otherwise 
would  be  most  acceptable  weary  their  audiences  and 
destroy  the  effect  of  what  they  have  already  said, 
because  they  cannot  or  will  not  stop  at  the  appro- 
priate time.  After  the  climax,  every  unnecessary  word 
weakens  the  force  of  all  that  has  preceded. 


160 


EXPOSITION. 


SUBJECTS  FOR    ESSAYS  AND   ORATIONS. 

In  each  case,  before  beginning  to  write,  the  writer  should  limit 
the  subject  selected  to  a  particular  theme. 

Subjects  relating  to  Patriotism. 

Patrick  Henry.  John  C.  Calhoun. 

Irving.  John  G.  Whittier. 

Henry  Clay.  Thomas  H.  Benton. 

Daniel  Webster.  James  Russell  Lowell. 


Achievements  of  Distinguished  Historic  Characters. 

Julius  Csesar.  Cortes. 

William  the  Silent.  Von  Moltke. 

Frederick  the  Great.  Louis  Kossuth. 

Napoleon  Bonaparte.  Bismarck. 

Significance  of  Great  Battles. 

Marathon.  Pultowa.  Yorktown.  Sadowa. 

Hastings.  Waterloo.        Gettysburg.        Sedan. 

Defeat  of  Burgoyne  at  Saratoga.  Manila. 


William  Morris. 
Burne-Jones. 


Work  of  Art  Lovers. 

John  Buskin. 
Artistic  Book-binders. 


Questions  of  Policy. 
Monroe  Doctrine. 

Extension  of  our  Territorial  Possessions. 
Subsidy  for  our  Merchant  Marine. 
Our  Need  of  a  Great  Navy. 
Methods  of  Benevolence. 
Need  of  Greater  Centralization  of  Power  in  the  United 

States  Government. 
Municipal  Control  of  Public  Utilities. 


SUBJECTS  FOR   ESSAYS  AND    ORATIONS.        161 

Public  Services  of  Distinguished  Englishmen. 

Oliver  Cromwell.  Horatio,  Lord  Nelson. 

William  Pitt,  the  Great  Commoner.      William  E.  Gladstone. 
Charles  George  Gordon.  Edmund  Burke. 

Subjects  of  Comparison. 

Stage-coach  and  Automobile. 

Benedict  Arnold  and  John  Andre. 

Kebecca  and  Rowena. 

A  Great  American  City,  —  this  Century  and  Two  Cen- 
turies ago. 

The  American  Congressional  System  and  the  English 
Parliamentary  System. 

Themes  in  Exposition  of  Literary  Characters. 

The  Industry  of  Sir  Walter  Scott. 
The  Old  Age  of  Milton. 
The  Poverty  of  Goldsmith. 
The  Conversation  of  Macaulay. 
Shakespeare  as  a  Humorist. 
Charles  and  Mary  Lamb  at  Home. 

SUGGESTIONS  TO  WRITERS   OF  SCHOOL  ESSAYS    AND  ORATIONS. 

Do  not  select  a  subject  too  large  for  your  information. 
Abstract  subjects  are  especially  difficult. 

Form  a  clear  conception  of  the  capacity  and  previous 
information  of  your  audience. 

Try  to  keep  your  mind  free  from  prejudice. 

Cultivate  intimate  acquaintance  with  your  subject.  Spend 
much  time  with  it.  Lean  upon  it.  The  subject  itself  will 
prove  to  you  a  better  friend  than  teacher  or  library. 

Refusing  to  plan  your  work  before  you  write  is  like  clos- 
ing the  eyes  when  you  go  duck-shooting. 


162  EXPOSITION. 

Make  the  introduction  brief,  direct,  and  simple  in  style. 
If  you  begin  with  lofty  language,  you  may  end  in  an  anti- 
climax. 

Do  not  forget  that  an  audience  likes  entertainment  better 
than  instruction. 

After  your  essay  or  oration  is  finished,  read  it  over  and 
see  if  the  paragraphs  are  well  connected.  In  an  oration  it 
is  a  good  plan  to  insert  verbal  guide-posts  that  indicate  the 
general  direction  of  thoughts  about  to  be  presented. 

Do  not  load  biographical  orations  with  facts.  Briefly 
summarize  the  main  incidents  in  the  biography.  Emphasize 
individuality  and  value  of  character. 

Six  or  seven  pages  make  a  reasonable  limit  for  a  school 
essay  or  oration.  Of  all  the  speeches  that  you  have  ever 
heard,  how  many  have  seemed  too  long  ?  How  many  too 
short  ? 

Remember  that  ignorance  and  inexperience  are  obstacles 
in  the  way  of  your  success.  Patient,  painstaking  effort  can 
overcome  both  difficulties. 

After  all  has  been  said,  the  greater  your  interest  in  your 
subject,  the  better  your  chances  for  interesting  others. 
Sincere  conviction  on  your  part  will  go  a  long  way  in  assist- 
ing you  to  convince. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  HIGHER  QUALITIES  OE  STYLE. 

ESSENTIALS  OF  GOOD  STYLE  —  HIGHER  QUALITIES  — 
FORCE  —  EMPHASIS  —  LIFE  —  VARIETY  — SMOOTH- 
NESS —  VALUE   OF  TRANSLATION. 

Essentials  of  Good  Style.  —  A  composition  may  have 
all  the  qualities  of  clearness,  unity,  and  correctness, 
and  yet  be  ineffective.  A  good  writer  must  do  more 
than  make  himself  understood ;  he  must  be  impressive. 
Good  style  demands  that  he  use  taste  and  judgment 
in  the  choice  and  arrangement  of  ideas  ;  words  must 
be  chosen  with  appropriateness  ;  sentences  must  be 
arranged  with  effectiveness  ;  and  paragraphs  must  be 
smoothly  connected. 

Necessity  of  Revision.  —  For  securing  a  good  style, 
revision  is  indispensable.  Possibly,  now  and  then,  an 
experienced  writer  may  make  little  change  in  the 
second  copy  of  a  composition  ;  but  the  ordinary  writer 
must  examine  his  manuscript  with  the  utmost  care 
before  he  ventures  to  say  that  it  is  finished.  He  should 
give  himself  all  the  time  possible,  to  avoid  being  hur- 
ried and  to  secure  ample  opportunity  for  revision.  If 
the  first  copy  of  a  composition  can  be  laid  aside  for  a 
day  or  longer,  the  author  will  bring  fresh  critical 
power  to  bear  upon  it  in  the  revision,  and  during  the 

163 


164  HIGHER    QUALITIES    OF  STYLE. 

interval  many  improvements  will  suggest  themselves  to 
his  mind. 

Higher  Qualities  of  Style.  —  Having  seen  to  it  that 
his  composition  is  not  lacking  in  unity  and  that  his 
sentences  are  correct  and  clear,  the  writer  must  test 
his  work  with  regard  to  higher  and  particular  qualities 
of  style.  The  end  that  he  has  in  view  will  deter- 
mine which  of  these  particular  qualities  he  wishes  to 
secure,  for  they  do  not  all  invariably  enter  into  all 
kinds  of  writing.  They  are  sought  rather  for  occa- 
sional ends.  The  most  important  of  these  higher  qual- 
ities of  style  are  Force,  Emphasis,  Life,  Variety,  and 
Smoothness. 

Purpose  of  Higher  Qualities  of  Style.  —  The  purpose 
of  these  qualities  of  style  is  to  rouse  and  hold  the 
attention  of  readers  or  listeners,  to  stimulate  thought, 
and  to  sway  the  feelings.  The  writer  must  adapt  his 
style  to  slow  minds  as  well  as  to  quick  minds ;  hence  it 
is  necessary  for  him,  if  he  would  impress,  to  be  full  of 
resources. 

Force.  —  It  must  be  clearly  understood  at  the  out- 
set that  no  rules  of  rhetoric  can  secure  vigor  of  expres- 
sion for  weak  and  confused  thinking.  Behind  forceful 
expression  must  be  clear  and  strong  conviction.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  strong  convictions  of  a  writer  are 
of  little  use  to  his  readers  if  he  does  not  know  how 
to  set  them  forth  in  appropriate  language  ;  he  must 
make  his  thoughts  stand  out  with  striking  distinctness. 
Toward  this  end,  words,  phrases,  and  clauses  should 
be  closely  scrutinized.     Simple   words,   the  every-day 


FORCE.  165 

kind,  are  the  most  forceful;  concrete  terms  impress 
more  than  abstract  ;  and  often  a  comprehensive  term 
may  be  found  which  will  take  the  place  of  many 
wearisome  details.  For  weighty  force,  modifiers  and 
relative  clauses  should  be  cut  away;  for  terseness  of 
expression,  even  connectives  may  be  spared  ;  and  some- 
times a  whole  phrase  or  clause  may  be  reduced  to  an 
equivalent  word. 

EXERCISE. 

Make  the  following  sentences  more  forceful,  referring  each  to 
some  principle  suggested  in  the  preceding  paragraph. 

I  intimated  to  him  that  this  bill,  if  passed,  would 
eventually  bring  commercial  disaster  to  a  multitude  of 
business  corporations. 

A  limited  supply  of  prevention  is  equal  in  value  to 
an  ample  abundance  of  remedy. 

Throughout  his  boyhood,  manhood,  and  old  age,  he 
was  ever  faithful  to  whatever  obligation  was  placed  upon 
him. 

He  was  a  worthy,  honorable,  and  courteous  gentle- 
man. 

George  Washington,  who  was  the  Father  of  his 
Country,  died  in  1799. 

I  came  and  I  saw  and  I  conquered. 

The  book  is  so  written  as  to  bring .  to  the  reader  a 
decided  sensation  of  weariness. 

Many  people  went  into  the  edifice. 

I  shall,  with  your  permission,  beg  leave  to  offer  some 
brief  observations. 

The  power  to  make  a  statement  on  any  subject  briefly, 
without  resorting  to  many  words,  phrases,  and  clauses,  is 
invaluable  to  the  person  who  has  that  power. 


166  HIGHEB    QUALITIES   OF  STYLE. 

Reduce  the  following  expressions  to  single  words :  — 
To  look  with  fixed  eyes ;  as  a  consequence ;  affording  great 
pleasure  and  satisfaction;  adapted  to  excite  great  fear  or 
dread ;  causing  death  or  destruction ;  these  things  being 
granted;  unwilling  to  give  money  to  those  that  need  it; 
pleasant  to  the  taste ;  existing  or  being  everywhere  ;  offen- 
sive to  the  sight ;  contributing  to  life ;  to  eat  up  rapidly  and 
completely. 

Rhetorical  Device  for  securing  Force  :  Allusion.  —  Force 
is  often  secured  by  the  use  of  the  rhetorical  figure,  allu- 
sion. By  referring  to  some  striking  incident  or  char- 
acter in  history  or  mythology,  which  illustrates  because 
of  resemblance,  the  writer  may  enrich  without  over- 
loading his  thought.  It  is  essential  to  an  effective 
allusion  that  it  shall  not  only  be  applicable,  but  it  shall 
allude  to  something  with  which  the  reader  is  likely 
to  be  familiar.  Nothing  is  more  natural  than  that  the 
mind  should  find  pleasure  in  recognizing  an  allusion. 
To  come  across,  in  new  literary  relations,  what  is 
already  familiar,  is  almost  as  happy  a  surprise  as  to 
meet  unexpectedly  our  own  countrymen  in  foreign 
lands.  Allusion  stimulates  the  memory.  If  the  reader 
is  quick  to  appreciate  the  associations  which  a  forceful 
allusion  implies,  to  him  the  passage  becomes  rich  in  mean- 
ing. The  secret  of  force  often  lies  in  what  is  suggested 
or  connoted,  quite  as  much  as  in  what  is  directly  said 
to  the  reader. 

EXERCISE. 

Note  the  following  allusions,  letting  your  mind  dwell  on  the 
association  of  each  :  — 

Nature  hath  f rarn'd  strange  fellows  in  her  time : 
Some  that  will  evermore  peep  through  their  eyes 


emphasis.  167 

And  laugh,  like  parrots,  at  a  bag-piper ; 

And  others,  of  such  vinegar  aspect 

That  they'll  not  show  their  teeth  in  way  of  smile, 

Though  Nestor  swear  the  jest  be  laughable. 

—  Shakespeare  :  Merchant  of  Venice,  Act  i,  Scene  1. 

Some  village  Hampden,  that  with  dauntless  breast, 
The  little  tyrant  of  his  fields  withstood, 

Some  mute  inglorious  Milton  here  may  rest, 
Some  Cromwell  guiltless  of  his  country's  blood. 

—  Gray  :  Etegy  written  in  a  Country  Churchyard. 

How  many  cowards,  whose  hearts  are  all  as  false 
As  stairs  of  sand,  wear  yet  upon  their  chins 
The  beards  of  Hercules  and  frowning  Mars, 
Who,  inward  search'd,  have  livers  white  as  milk ! 

—  Shakespeare  :  Merchant  of  Venice,  Act  in,  Scene  2. 

An  epigram  also  conveys  a  striking  thought  in  few 
words ;  often  it  contains  an  apparent  contradiction, 
as,  "The  child  is  father  of  the  man."  Many  proverbs 
are  epigrams. 

A  wit  with  dunces,  and  a  dunce  with  wits. 

—  Pope  :   The  Dunciad,  Book  iv. 

Too  low  they  build,  who  build  beneath  the  stars. 

—  Young  :  Night  Thoughts,  Book  vin. 

He's  armed  without  that's  innocent  within. 

—  Pope  :  Epistle  to  Satires. 

Sin  has  many  tools,  but  a  lie  is  the  handle  which  fits  them 
all.—  Holmes  :    The  Autocrat  of  the  Breakfast-  Table,  Chapter  vi. 

Emphasis. — Emphasis  in  style  denotes  a  kind  of 
impressiveness  obtained  by  an  appropriate  arrange- 
ment of  words,  phrases,  clauses,  sentences,  and  para- 
graphs.    The  emphasis  of  paragraphs  is  accomplished 


168  HIGHER    QUALITIES   OF  STYLE. 

by  the  position,  length  of  treatment,  and  degree  of  emo- 
tion used  in  developing  them.  Introductory  phrases, 
likewise,  may  indicate  special  distinction;  such  as,  "Of 
equal  importance,"  "  Not  less  weighty,"  "  Beyond  ques- 
tion," "The  most  striking."  The  general  principles 
underlying  the  rules  for  increasing  emphasis  are  most 
easily  understood  by  examining  in  the  sentence  the 
emphasis  of  words,  phrases,  and  clauses. 

Emphasis  of  Words,  Phrases,  and  Clauses.  — The  emphatic 
places  of  a  sentence  are  the  beginning  and  the  end. 
The  problem,  then,  in  most  cases,  is  to  arrange  the  part 
to  be  emphasized  so  that  it  will  fall  in  one  of  these  two 
places.  As  the  normal  order  of  the  English  sentence 
has  the  subject  near  the  beginning,  the  subject  would 
attract  attention  if  moved  toward  the  end ;  the  predi- 
cate likewise  gains  emphasis  by  being  placed  first.  In 
the  same  way  adjectives  and  adverbs  placed  after  the 
words  they  modify,  instead  of  before  them,  are  made 
conspicuous.  If  the  writer  wishes  to  foster  the  reader's 
expectation  by  keeping  the  sense  incomplete  till  the 
very  end  of  the  sentence,  he  may  use  the  periodic 
structure.  This  requires  that  all  if-clauses,  when- 
clauses,  and  participial  or  adjective  phrases  come  in  the 
first  part  of  the  sentence.  The  end  of  a  sentence  is  the 
chief  place  of  distinction. 

Rhetorical  Devices  for  securing  Emphasis :  Repetition.  — 

The  simplest  method  of  emphasizing  a  word  is  to 
repeat  it.  In  prose,  repetition  often  rounds  out  a 
period ;  in  poetry,  it  serves  to  emphasize  the  burden  of 
the  refrain.  Skilfully  handled,  it  is  a  source  of  power. 
For  example  :  — 


REPETITION.  169 

The  proposition  is  peace.  Not  peace  .through  the  medium 
of  war;  not  peace  to  be  hunted  through  the  labyrinth  of 
intricate  and  endless  negotiations ;  not  peace  to  arise  out  of 
universal  discord,  fomented,  from  principle,  in  all  parts 
of  the  empire  ;  not  peace  to  depend  on  the  judicial  determi- 
nation of  perplexing  questions,  or  the  precise  marking  the 
shadowy  boundaries  of  a  complex  government.  It  is  simple 
peace,  sought  in  its  natural  course  and  in  its  ordinary 
haunts.  It  is  peace  sought  in  the  spirit  of  peace,  and  laid 
in  principles  purely  pacific. 

—  Burke:  Conciliation  with  the  Colonies. 

0  the  dreary,  dreary  moorland,  0  the  barren,  barren  shore  ! 

—  Tennyson  :  Locksley  Hall. 

Sometimes  the  very  length  and.  strength  of  a  word 
emphasizes  the  thought.     For  example  :  — 

What  though  the  field  be  lost  ? 
All  is  not  lost;  the  unconquerable  will, 
And  study  of  revenge,  immortal  hate 
And  courage  never  to  submit  or  yield. 
—  Milton  :  Satan's  Speech  in  Paradise  Lost,  Book  i. 

Fourthly,  this  method  of  ransom  by  auction,  unless  it  be 
universally  accepted,  will  plunge  you  into  great  and  inex- 
tricable difficulties. 

—  Burke  :  Conciliation  with  the  Colonies. 

EXERCISE. 

Revise  the  following  sentences,  so  as  to  produce  effects  in 
emphasis :  — 

As  soon  as  I  have  read  the  paper  I  will  return  it  to  you. 
Emphasize  time-clause. 

The  Jewish  nation,  of  all  nations  in  the  annals  of  history, 
is  the  most  interesting. 
Emphasize  the  subject. 


170  HIGHER   QUALITIES   OF  STYLE.. 

The  mystery  of  life  and  death  is  great. 
Emphasize  predicate  adjective. 

She  became  desirous  to  escape  from  his  inspection,  con- 
scious that  her  choice  was  one  which  Johnson  could  not 
approve. 

Emphasize  the  adjective  conscious. 

The  interest  which  Johnson's  new  associates  took  in  him 
was  increased  from  the  very  peculiarities  which  seemed  to 
unfit  him  for  civilized  society,  —  his  gesticulations,  his  roll- 
ings, his  puffings,  his  mutterings,  the  strange  way  he  put  on 
his  clothes,  the  ravenous  eagerness  with  which  he  devoured 
his  dinner,  his  fits  of  melancholy,  his  frequent  rudeness,  his 
occasional  ferocity. 

Make  this  sentence  periodic.     Change  the  voice  of  the  verb. 

Indicate  the  natural  and  the  emphatic  positions  for  the  phrases 
and  clauses  in  brackets,  in  the  following  passages :  — 

[In  America]  the  love  of  freedom  itself  is  hardly  less  [in 
America]  than  the  love  of  money  [in  America]. 

[In  due  time]  the  party  [in  due  time]  was  landed  at  the 
Royal  Gardens  [in  due  time]. 

[Whosoever  will],  let  him  [whosoever  will]  take  the 
water  of  life  freely. 

Irony.  —  Another  way  of  forcefully  arresting  atten- 
tion, and  thus  emphasizing  the  single  thought,  is  to 
use  deliberately  words  which  seem  to  mean  one  thing 
but  clearly  suggest  a  meaning  quite  different,  —  often 
the  exact  opposite.  Such  a  use  of  words  is  called 
Irony.  This  rhetorical  figure  is  suited  to  spoken  rather 
than  to  written  discourse,  as  the  true  meaning  is  then 
conveyed  by  the  tone  of  the  voice.     Thus  :  — 

And  it  came  to  pass  at  noon,  that  Elijah  mocked  them, 
and  said,  Cry  aloud :   for  he  is  a  god ;  either  he  is  talking, 


CLIMAX    AND    ANTITHESIS.  171 

or  he  is  pursuing,  or  he  is  in  a  journey,  or  peradventure  he 
sleepeth,  and  must  be  awaked — 7  Kings  xviii,  27. 

The  speech  of  Mark  Antony,  Julius  Ccesar,  Act  in, 
Scene  2. 

The  speech  of  Lennox,  Macbeth,  Act  in,  Scene  5. 

Rhetorical  Devices  of  Arrangement  for  Securing  Em- 
phasis. —  The  principle  of  nice  arrangement  extends 
through  all  the  parts  and  stages  of  composition.  In 
the  sentence,  the  two  devices  most  frequently  applied 
are  Climax  and  Antithesis. 

Climax.  —  Climax  demands  such  an  arrangement  of 
the  parts  of  the  sentence  that  they  shall  have  a  gradual 
upward  progress,  according  to  the  intensity  and  impor- 
tance of  the  thought.     For  example  :  — 

To  bind  a  Roman  citizen  is  an  outrage ;  to  scourge  him 
an  atrocious  crime ;  to  put  him  to  death  is  almost  parricide ; 
but  to  crucify  him,  —  what  shall  I  call  it  ? 

—  Cicero  :  Oration  against  Verves. 

Antithesis.  —  When  one  idea  is  contrasted  with  an- 
other, each  is  emphasized.  Antithesis,  like  climax,  is 
found  not  only  in  the  structure  of  phrases  and  sen- 
tences, but  also  in  larger  ways  in  contrasted  moods, 
characters,  and  scenes.  It  is  one  of  Macaulay's  favorite 
devices.  Most  frequently  it  appears  in  the  balanced 
sentence. 

Generalization  is  necessary  to  the  advancement  of  knowl- 
edge ;  but  particularity  is  indispensable  to  the  creations  of 
the  imagination.  —  Macaulay. 

If  the  comparison  be  continued  in  a  group  of  balanced 
sentences,  we  have  the  figure  known  as  Parallel. 


172  HIGHER   QUALITIES   OF  STYLE. 

Compare  the  two  plans.  This  I  offer  to  give  you  is  plain 
and  simple.  The  other  full  of  perplexed  and  intricate 
mazes.  This  is  mild  ;  that  harsh.  This  is  found  by  ex- 
perience effectual  for  its  purposes ;  the  other  is  a  new  proj- 
ect. This  is  universal ;  the  other  calculated  for  certain 
colonies  only.  This  is  immediate  in  its  conciliatory  opera- 
tion ;  the  other  remote,  contingent,  full  of  hazard.  Mine  is 
what  becomes  the  dignity  of  a  ruling  people,  gratuitous,  un- 
conditional, and  not  held  out  as  a  matter  of  bargain  and 
sale.     I  have  clone  my  duty  in  proposing  it  to  you. 

—  Burke:   Conciliation  with  the  Colonies. 

Parallel  Constructions. — The  use  of  parallel  construc- 
tions often  makes  it  easy  for  the  mind  of  the  reader  to 
seize  upon  the  main  thought  to  be  emphasized.  Peri- 
odic sentences  whose  subordinate  clauses  are  similar  in 
grammatical  form  are  particularly  effective,  especially 
in  spoken  discourse. 

Wlien  I  contemplate  these  things ;  ivhen  I  know  that  the 
colonies  in  general  owe  little  or  nothing  to  any  care  of  ours, 
and  that  they  are  not  squeezed  into  this  happy  form  by  the 
constraints  of  watchful  and  suspicious  government,  but 
that,  through  a  wise  and  salutary  neglect,  a  generous  nature 
has  been  suffered  to  take  her  own  way  to  perfection ;  when 
I  reflect  upon  these  effects,  when  I  see  how  profitable  they 
have  been  to  us,  I  feel  all  the  pride  of  power  sink,  and  all 
presumption  in  the  wisdom  of  human  contrivances  melt  and 
die  away  within  me.  My  rigor  relents.  I  pardon  some- 
thing to  the  spirit  of  liberty. 

—  Burke  :   Conciliation  with  the  Colonies. 

EXERCISE. 

Compare  the  arrangement  of  the  phrases  or  clauses  italicized  in 
the  following  contrasted  passages,  and  determine  which  form  is 
preferable  :  — 


ARRANGEMENT  OF  SERIES.  173 

Our   royalist    countrymen  Our   royalist   countrymen 

were  not  heartless,  dangling  were  not  heartless,  dangling 

courtiers,    bowing    at    every  courtiers,    bowing    at   every 

step,  who  simpered  at   every  step  and  simpering  at  every 

tarn.  turn. 

He  once  more  extended  his  He  once  more  extended  his 
hand  to  Robin  Hood  with  as-  hand  to  Robin  Hood  with  as- 
surance of  full  pardon  and  surance  of  full  pardon  and 
future  favor,  as  ivell  as  that  future  favor,  as  well  as  of 
he  was  firmly  resolved  to  re-  his  resolution  to  restrain  the 
strain  the  tyrannical  exer-  tyrannical  exercise  of  for- 
cise  of  forest  rights.  est  rights. 

Series. —  The  arrangement  of  the  several  terms  in  a 
series  may  be  a  matter  of  great  rhetorical  value.  In 
the  case  of  single  words,  the  terms  may  be  arranged 
according  to  their  length,  the  shortest  coming  first,  the 
longest  last,  so  that  the  result  is  simply  a  harmonious 
sound.  A  sentence  which  contains  a  series  arranged 
in  a  climax  holds  the  attention  of  the  reader.  The 
series  may  be  composed  of  phrases  or  clauses,  as  well 
as  of  single  words. 

Nor,  we  are  convinced,  will  the  severest  of  our  readers 
blame  us  if  on  an  occasion  like  the  present  we  turn  for  a 
short  time  from  the  topics  of  the  day  to  commemorate,  in 
all  love  and  reverence,  the  genius  and  virtues  of  John 
Milton,  the  poet,  the  statesman,  the  philosopher,  the  glory 
of  English  literature,  the  champion  and  the  martyr  of 
English  liberty.  —  Macaulay  :  Essay  on  Milton. 

Periodic  sentences  whose  component  parts  are  ar- 
ranged in  a  climax  are  especially  strong. 

If  we  wish  to  be  free,  if  we  mean  to  preserve  inviolate 
those  inestimable  privileges  for  which  we  have  been  so  long 


174  HIGHER    QUALITIES   OF  STYLE. 

contending ;  if  we  mean  not  basely  to  abandon  the  struggle 
in  which  we  have  been  engaged  and  which  we  have  pledged 
ourselves  never  to  abandon  until  the  glorious  object  of  our 
contest  shall  be  obtained — we  must  fight. 

—  Patrick  Henry  :  Speech  before  the  Virginia  Convention. 

Life.  —  No  set  rules  can  impart  life  to  discourse.  It  is 
the  most  subtle  and  the  most  essential  quality  of  style, 
depending  chiefly  upon  the  personality  of  the  writer. 
There  are,  however,  certain  forms  of  expression  which 
a  vigorous  and  earnest  mind  naturally  appropriates  to 
itself.  The  effect  of  these  forms  is  worth  study. 
Ordinarily  they  are  treated  as  simple  figures  of  speech. 
An  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  beginner  to  cultivate  a 
steady  use  of  these  figures  would  result  in  bringing 
about  a  forced  and  stilted  style.  On  the  other  hand,  it 
may  be  helpful  to  examine  the  various  uses  of  these 
simple  figures  of  speech.  Their  force  depends  upon 
their  appropriateness  ;  that  is,  the  associations  aroused 
should  awaken  a  train  of  thought  befitting  the  subject. 

Simile  and  Metaphor.  —  The  writer  who  is  quick  to 
discern  resemblances  will  often  suggest  much  that  is 
helpful  to  the  reader's  imagination,  by  the  use  of  com- 
parisons. But  a  mere  comparison  is  not  necessarily  a 
figure  of  speech.  Similes  and  metaphors  require  that 
the  objects  compared  belong  to  different  classes.  This 
requirement  makes  it  possible  for  the  point  of  resem- 
blance to  stand  out  the  more  boldly.  Thus,  if  a  man  is 
compared  to  a  lion,  the  points  of  difference  are  so  many 
that  the  mind  readily  seizes  upon  the  main  point  of 
resemblance, — courage.  Writers  who  can  use  good 
similes   and  metaphors  stimulate   the  reader,  because 


SIMILE  AND  METAPHOR.  175 

there  is  a  certain  delight  that  comes  to  him  in  recogniz- 
ing the  point  of  likeness.  It  is  necessary,  then,  that 
the  word  used  figuratively  should  be  better  known  than 
the  object  which  is  being  explained,  otherwise  the 
connotations  are  dim  and  unimpressive.  Similes  are 
appropriately  used  for  illustrative  value,  metaphors  for 
securing  concise  vividness.  Metaphors  are  stronger 
than  similes  because  they  merely  imply  the  comparison, 
whereas  similes  clearly  express  it  by  using  some  word 
of  likeness. 

EXEKCISE. 

Note  the  various  effects  produced  by  the  use  of  similes  and 
metaphors  in  the  following  extracts  :  — 

Many  a  night  I  saw  the  Pleiads,  rising  through  the  mellow 

shade, 
Glitter  like  a  swarm  of  fire-flies  tangled  in  a  silver  braid. 

—  Tennvson  :  Locksley  Hall. 

The  clouds  were  pure  and  white  as  flocks  new  shorn, 
And  fresh  from  the  clear  brook ;  sweetly  they  slept 
On  the  blue  fields  of  heaven. 

— Keats  :  "  I  stood  tiptoe  upon  a  little  hill.'1'' 

Now  Morn,  her  rosy  steps  in  the  eastern  clime 
Advancing,  sowed  the  earth  with  orient  pearl. 

—  Milton  :  Paradise  Lost,  Book  v. 

His  legions,  angel  forms,  who  lay  entranc'd 
Thick  as  autumnal  leaves  that  strow  the  brooks 
In  Vallombrosa,  where  the  Etrurian  shades, 
High  over-arch'd,  embower. 

—  Milton:  Paradise  Lost,  Book  i. 

The   school   was   kept   by    a   conscientious   prig   of   the 
ancient  system,  who  did  his  duty  by  the  boys  intrusted  to 


176  HIGHER    QUALITIES   OF  STYLE. 

his  care,  —  that  is  to  say,  we  were  flogged  soundly  when  we 
did  not  get  our  lessons.  We  were  put  in  classes  and  thus 
flogged  on  in  droves  along  the  highway  of  knowledge,  in 
much  the  same  manner  as  cattle  are  driven  to  market ; 
where  those  that  are  heavy  in  gait,  or  short  in  leg,  have  to 
suffer  for  the  superior  alertness  or  longer  limbs  of  their 
companions.  —  Irving:  Tales  of  a  Traveler:  Buckthorne. 

Morn  in  the  white  wake  of  the  morning  star 
Came  furrowing  all  the  orient  into  gold. 

—  Tennyson  :   The  Princess,  Canto  m. 

It  is  a  beauteous  evening,  calm  and  free ; 
The  holy  time  is  quiet  as  a  Nun 
Breathless  with  adoration. 

—  Wordsworth  :   Sonnets. 

Numb  were  the  Beadsman's  fingers,  while  he  told 

His  rosary,  and  while  his  frosted  breath, 

Like  pious  incense  from  a  censer  old, 

Seem'd  taking  flight  for  heaven,  without  a  death, 

Past  the  sweet  Virgin's  picture,  while  his  prayer  he 

saith. 

—  Keats  :   The  Eve  of  St.  Agnes. 

This  fine  old  world  of  ours  is  but  a  child 
Yet  in  the  go-cart.     Patience  !     Give  it  time 
To  learn  its  limbs :  there  is  a  hand  that  guides. 

—  Tennyson:    The  Princess,  Epilogue. 

And  ice,  mast-high,  came  floating  by, 
As  green  as  emerald. 

—  Coleridge  :  Bime  of  the  Ancient  Mariner. 


Here  are  sweet  peas,  on  tiptoe  for  a  flight 
of  gentle  flush  o'er  delicate  w. 
—  Keats:   "I stood  tiptoe  upon  a  little  hill." 


With  wings  of  gentle  flush  o'er  delicate  white. 


SIMILE  AND  METAPHOR.  177 

A  violet  by  a  mossy  stone 

Half  hidden  from  the  eye  ! 
Fair  as  a  star,  when  only  one 
Is  shining  in  the  sky. 
—  Wordsworth  :  "She  dwelt  among  the  untrodden  ways.'1'' 

Night's  candles  are  burnt  out,  and  jocund  day 
Stands  tiptoe  on  the  misty  mountain  tops. 

—  Shakespeare  :   Borneo  and  Juliet,  Act  in,  Scene  5. 

Boston  State-House  is  the  hub  of  the  solar  system.  You 
couldn't  pry  that  out  of  a  Boston  man,  if  you  had  the  tire  of 
all  creation  straightened  out  for  a  crowbar. 

—  Holmes  :    The  Autocrat  of  the  Breakfast- Table,  Chapter  vi. 

The  rank  is  but  the  guinea's  stamp ; 
The  man's  the  gowd  [gold]  for  a'  that. 

—  Burns  :  For  a'  That  and  a1  That. 

I  wandered  lonely  as  a  cloud 

That  floats  on  high  o'er  vales  and  hills, 

When  all  at  once  I  saw  a  crowd, 

A  host  of  golden  daffodils  ; 

Beside  the  lake,  beneath  the  trees, 

Fluttering  and  dancing  in  the  breeze. 

—  Wordsworth  :  The  Daffodils. 

I  like  to  meet  a  sweep,  —  understand  me,  —  not  a 
grown  sweeper,  —  old  chimney-sweepers  are  by  no  means 
attractive,  —  but  one  of  those  tender  novices,  blooming 
through  their  first  nigritude,  the  maternal  washings  not 
quite  effaced  from  the  cheek,  —  such  as  come  forth  with 
the  dawn,  or  somewhat  earlier,  with  their  little  profes- 
sional notes  sounding  like  the  peep  peep  of  a  young  spar- 
row; or  liker  to  the  matin  lark  should  I  pronounce  them, 
in  their  aerial  ascents  not  seldom  anticipating  the  sunrise  ? 


178  HIGHER    QUALITIES   OF  STYLE. 

I  have  a  kindly  yearning  towards  these  dim  specks  — 
poor  blots  —  innocent  blacknesses  — 

I  reverence  these  young  Africans  of  our  own  growth  — 
these  almost  clergy  imps,  who  sport  their  cloth  without 
assumption;  and  from  their  little  pulpits  (the  tops  of 
chimneys),  in  the  nipping  air  of  a  December  morning, 
preach  a  lesson  of  patience  to  mankind. 

—  Lamb  •   Essays  of  Elia. 

The  western  waves  of  ebbing  day 
Rolled  o'er  the  glen  their  level  way ; 
Each  purple  peak,  each  flinty  spire, 
Was  bathed  in  floods  of  living  fire. 

—  Scott  :  The  Lady  of  the  Lake. 

Epithet  of  Comparison. —  Sometimes  a  comparison  is 
condensed  into  a  compound  adjective  or  epithet  imply- 
ing comparison.  For  example,  the  Ox-eyed  Juno  of 
Homer,  or,  as  Tennyson  says, — 

I  stole  from  court 
With  Cyril  and  with  Florian,  unperceiv'd, 
Cat-footed  through  the  town,  and  half  in  dread 
To  hear  my  father's  clamor  at  our  backs. 

—  Tlxe  Princess,  Canto  i. 

EXERCISE. 

Note  the  effect  of  the  epithets  in  the  following  quotations  :  — 

The  breezy  call  of  incense-breathing  Morn, 

The  swallow  twitt'ring  from  the  straw-built  shed, 

The  cock's  shrill  clarion,  or  the  echoing  horn 
No  more  shall  rouse  them  from  their  lowly  bed. 

—  Gray  :  Elegy  written  in  a  Country  Churchyard. 

Neptune,  besides  the  sway 
Of  every  salt  flood  and  each  ebbing  stream, 


PERSONIFICATION  AND  APOSTROPHE.  179 

Took  in,  by  lot  'twixt  high  and  nether  Jove, 
Imperial  rule  of  all  the  sea-girt  isles, 
That,  like  to  rich  and  various  gems,  inlay 
The  unadorned  bosom  of  the  deep. 

—  Milton  :   Comus. 

See  what  a  grace  was  seated  on  this  brow : 
Hyperion's  curls;  the  front  of  Jove  himself; 
An  eye  like  Mars,  to  threaten  or  command; 
A  station  like  the  herald  Mercury, 
New-lighted  on  a  heaven-kissing  hill; 
A  combination,  and  a  form,  indeed, 
Where  every  god  did  seem  to  set  his  seal, 
To  give  the  world  assurance  of  a  man. 

—  Shakespeare  :  Hamlet,  Act  in,  Scene  4. 

Personification  and  Apostrophe.  — When  a  metaphor  goes 
so  far  as  to  imply  a  resemblance  between  an  inanimate 
object  and  a  person,  so  that  the  thing  is  treated  as  if  it 
had  life,  we  have  personification.  If  the  figure  becomes 
still  bolder,  by  directly  addressing  the  object  as  if  it 
could  be  talked  to,  we  have  apostrophe.  An  illustration 
of  such  apostrophe  is  the  line, 

Roll  on,  thou  deep  and  dark  blue  ocean,  roll. 

Sometimes  the  term  is  also  applied  to  addressing  the 
absent  as  if  present,  a  use  of  the  figure  suitable  only  to 
a  very  impassioned  form  of  prose  or  poetry. 

EXERCISE. 

Note  the  effect  of  these  figures  in  the  following  selections  :  — 
Near  yonder  copse,  where  once  the  garden  smiled, 
And  still  where  many  a  garden-flower  grows  wild. 

—  Goldsmith:  The  Deserted  Village. 


180  HIGHER    QUALITIES   OF  STYLE. 

Right  against  the  eastern  gate 
Where  the  great  sun  begins  his  state, 
Rob'd  in  flames  and  amber  light, 
The  clouds  in  thousand  liveries  bright. 

—  Milton  :  V Allegro.  ' 

Let  not  Ambition  mock  their  useful  toil, 
Their  homely  joys  and  destiny  obscure ; 

Nor  Grandeur  hear  with  a  disdainful  smile, 
The  short  and  simple  annals  of  the  poor. 

—  Gray  :  Elegy  written  in  a  Country  Churchyard. 

I  weep  for  Adonais  —  he  is  dead ! 

O  weep  for  Adonais  !  though  our  tears 
Thaw  not  the  frost  that  binds  so  dear  a  head ! 

And  thou,  sad  Hour,  selected  from  all  years 

To  mourn  our  loss,  rouse  thy  obscure  compeers, 
And  teach  them  thine  own  sorrow,  say  :  with  me 

Died  Adonais  ;  till  the  Future  dares 
Forget  the  Past,  his  fate  and  fame  shall  be 
An  echo  and  a  light  unto  eternity  ! 

—  Shelley  :  Elegy  on  John  Keats. 

0  Scotia,  my  dear,  my  native  soil ! 

For  whom  my  warmest  wish  to  Heaven  is  sent ! 
Long  may  thy  hardy  sons  of  rustic  toil 

Be  blest  with  health,  and  peace,  and  sweet  content ! 
—  Burns:   The  Cottar's  Saturday  Night. 

Hail  to  thee,  blithe  spirit ! 

Bird  thou  never  wert, 
That  from  heaven,  or  near  it, 
Pourest  thy  full  heart 
In  profuse  strains  of  unpremeditated  art. 

—  Shelley:   To  a  Skylark. 


METONYMY  AND   SYNECDOCHE.  181 

Milton  !  thou  shouldst  be  living  at  this  hour : 

England  hath  need  of  thee ;  she  is  a  fen 

Of  stagnant  waters:   altar,  sword  and  pen, 

Fireside,  the  heroic  wealth  of  hall  and  bower, 

Have  forfeited  their  ancient  English  dower 

Of  inward  happiness.     We  are  selfish  men ; 

0  !  raise  us  up,  return  to  us  again ; 

And  give  us  manners,  virtue,  freedom,  power. 

Thy  soul  was  like  a  star,  and  dwelt  apart : 

Thou  hadst  a  voice  whose  sound  was  like  the  sea : 

Pure  as  the  naked  heavens,  majestic,  free, 

So  didst  thou  travel  on  life's  common  way, 

In  cheerful  godliness ;  and  yet  thy  heart 

The  lowliest  duties  on  herself  did  lay. 

—  Wordsworth  :   Sonnet  to  Milton. 

Metonymy  and  Synecdoche.  —  Metonymy  and  synec- 
doche are  much  alike,  in  that  both  suggest  an  idea  by 
referring  to  something  closely  related  to  that  idea.  Me- 
tonymy calls  to  mind  an  accompanying  cause  or  effect, 
a  symbol  of  the  idea,  or  even  some  circumstance  or 
condition  closely  connected  with  it.  For  example,  — 
Death  fell  in  showers. 

Here  death  is  used  to  signify  the  bullets  that  cause 
death.  The  advantage  of  using  the  word  death  in  place 
of  bullets  is  that  it  quickly  calls  to  mind  the  effect  of 
the  bullets.  It  really  names  the  idea  and  lets  the  rest 
go.  Synecdoche  names  only  the  serviceable  part,  that 
which  bears  on  the  immediate  purpose.    For  example  :  — 

The  factory  employs  two  hundred  hands. 
Here  the  word  hands,  used  for  persons,  emphasizes  the 
activity  with  which  the  persons    are  associated,  thus 
reinforcing  the  thought. 


182  HIGHER   QUALITIES   OF  STYLE. 

Interrogation  and  Exclamation.  —  It  often  adds  life  to 
a  composition  if  the  writer  occasionally  expresses  his 
strong  assertions  in  the  form  of  questions.  Interroga- 
tion as  a  figure  of  speech  asks  a  question,  not  for 
information,  but  for  strengthening  a  statement.  It  is 
as  if  the  reader  were  challenged  to  gainsay  it.  For 
examples,  study  the  following  passages  :  — 

Canst  thou  by  searching  find  out  God  ?  canst  thou  find 
out  the  Almighty  unto  perfection  ?  —  job  xi,  7. 

Can  storied  urn  or  animated  bust, 

Back  to  its  mansion  call  the  fleeting  breath, 

Can  Honor's  voice  provoke  the  silent  dust, 

Or  Flattery  soothe  the  dull  cold  ear  of  Death  ? 
—  Gray:  Elegy  written  in  a  Country  Churchyard. 

Breathes  there  the  man  with  soul  so  dead 
Who  never  to  himself  hath  said, 
This  is  my  own,  my  native  land  ? 

—  Scott:    The  Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel,  Canto  vi. 

0  death,  where  is  thy  sting  ?  0  grave,  where  is  thy  vic- 
tory ?  —  /  Corinthians  xv,  55. 

The  use  of  exclamation  in  place  of  simple  statement 
of  fact  connotes  active  and  vivid  feeling.  Note  the 
difference  between  the  following  sentence-forms  :  — 

Man  is  a  wonderful  piece  of  work.  He  is  noble  in  rea- 
son. He  is  infinite  in  faculty.  In  form  and  moving  he  is 
express  and  admirable.  In  action  he  is  like  an  angel.  In 
apprehension  he  is  like  a  god.  He  is  the  beauty  of  the 
world.     He  is  the  paragon  of  animals. 

What  a  piece  of  work  is  man!  How  noble  in  reason! 
How  infinite  in  faculty  !  In  form  and  moving  how  express 
and  admirable !     In  action  how  like  an  angel !     In  appre- 


HYPERBOLE.  183 

hension  how  like  a  god !     The  beauty  of  the  world !     The 
paragon  of  animals ! 

—  Shakespeare  :  Hamlet,  Act  n,  Scene  2. 

Hyperbole.  —  For  vigor  of  conception,  hyperbole,  or 
exaggeration,  is  sometimes  effective  if  wisely  used.  If, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  writer  frequently  resorts  to  ex- 
aggerations, he  runs  the  risk  of  having  all  his  state- 
ments received  with  a  discount.  Then,  too,  the  writer 
must  be  careful  to  see  that  the  hyperbole  is  unmistak- 
able, or  his  meaning  may  be  wrongly  interpreted.  For 
example,  the  expression,  "  He  thanked  me  a  thousand 
times,"  would  never  be  interpreted  literally,  and  it  is 
much  more  vigorous  than  "  He  thanked  me  profusely." 
Not  infrequently,  hyperbole  is  used  for  humorous  ef- 
fect ;    as  in  Irving's  Legend  of  Sleepy  Holloto  :  — 

A  small  wool  cap  rested  on  the  top  of  his  [Ichabod's] 
nose,  for  so  his  scanty  strip  of  forehead  might  be  called. 

Narrative  Vividness.  —  For  narrative  vividness  it  is 
well  to  understand  the  use  of  the  historic  present. 
Young  writers  are  apt  to  resort  to  it  too  frequently ;  it 
loses  its  effect  if  used  in  recounting  the  commonplace 
parts  of  the  story.  When  reserved  for  dramatic  moments 
it  is  impressive.  The  writer  should  remember,  also,  that 
it  must  be  used  consistently;  that  is,  it  must  not  be 
mixed  with  past  tenses  unless  for  some  very  good 
reason.  Another  dramatic  effect  may  be  secured  in 
narration  if,  in  reporting  important  conversations,  the 
narrator  employs  direct  discourse.  Indirect  discourse 
may  be  fittingly  reserved  for  conversations  of  secondary 
value ;  to  elevate  them  to  the  dramatic  would  be  to 
over-emphasize  trifles. 


184  HIGHER    QUALITIES   OF  STYLE. 

Effective  Description.  —  In  giving  descriptions,  the 
writer  should  avoid  as  far  as  possible  the  passive  voice  ; 
the  active  adds  life,  the  passive  deadens.  The  use 
of  imitative  words  adds  greatly  to  the  vividness  of 
descriptions.  Words  of  this  kind  are  illustrated  in  the 
expressions  "  hum  of  the  machinery,"  "  whistling  of 
the  winds,"  "the  crash  of  falling  timber."  When 
artistically  applied  in  poetry,  so  that  the  words  sug- 
gest sounds,  this  device  is  treated  as  a  figure  of  speech, 
under  the  name  of  onomatopoeia,  which  literally  means 
the  making  of  a  name  to  imitate  a  natural  sound.  For 
example,  read  aloud  the  following  selections,  noting 
the  effects  produced  :  — 

The  moan  of  doves  in  immemorial  elms, 
And  murmuring  of  innumerable  bees. 

—  Tennyson  :   Tlie  Princess,  Canto  vn. 

In  Stygian  cave  forlorn 
'Mongst  horrid  shapes,  and  shrieks,  and  sights  unholy  ! 

—  Milton  :  V Allegro. 

Hear  the  loud  alarum-bells  — 

Brazen  bells  ! 

What  a  tale  of  terror  now  their  turbulency  tells ! 

In  the  startled  ear  of  night 

How  they  scream  out  their  affright ! 

Too  much  horrified  to  speak 

They  can  only  shriek,  shriek 

Out  of  tune. 


Yet  the  ear  distinctly  tells 

In  the  jangling  and  the  wrangling 

How  the  danger  sinks  and  swells, 

By  the  sinking  or  the  swelling  in  the  anger  of  the  bells  — 


EFFECTIVE  DESCRIPTION.  185 

Of  the  bells,  bells,  bells,  bells, 

Bells,  bells,  bells, 

In  the  clamor  and  the  clangor  of  the  bells  ! 

—  Poe  :  The  Bells. 

That  this  song  of  the  kettle's  was  a  song  of  invitation 
and  welcome  to  somebody  ont  of  doors ;  to  somebody  at 
that  moment  coming  on,  toward  the  snug  small  home  and 
the  crisp  fire :  there  is  no  doubt  whatever.  Mrs.  Peery- 
bingle  knew  it,  perfectly,  as  she  sat  musing  before  the 
hearth.  It's  a  dark  night,  sang  the  kettle,  and  the  rotten 
leaves  are  lying  by  the  way ;  and,  above  all,  is  mist 
and  darkness, .and  below  all,  is  mire  and  clay;  and  there's 
only  one  relief  in  all  the  sad  and  murky  air ;  and  I  don't 
know  that  it  is  one,  for  it's  nothing  but  a  glare  ;  of  deep 
and  angry  crimson,  where  the  sun  and  wind  together 
set  a  brand  upon  the  clouds  for  being  guilty  of  such 
weather ;  and  the  widest  open  country  is  a  long,  dull 
streak  of  black  ;  and  there's  hoar-frost  on  the  finger-post, 
and  thaw  upon  the  track ;  and  the  ice  it  isn't  water, 
and  the  water  isn't  free  ;  and  you  couldn't  say  that  any- 
thing is  what   it   ought  to  be ;    but  he's  coming,  coming, 


coming ! 


Dickens  :   The  Cricket  on  the  Hearth. 


Sometimes  long  words  add  a  volume  of  sound  that 
corresponds  to  the  descriptive  value  implied  in  sense  ; 
as,  "the  multitudinous  seas"  is  more  effective  than  the 
broad  or  vast  seas. 

In  describing  traits  of  character  a  writer  may  often 
suggest  names  that  have  come  down  through  history 
and  literature  with  well-known  reputations  ;  as,  "  He 
was  a  very  Solomon  for  wisdom,"  or,  "  He  was  another 
doubting  Thomas." 


186  HIGHER   QUALITIES   OF  STYLE. 

EXERCISE. 

Express  the  following  sentences  with  more  life  :  — 

A.t  any  moment,  Roderick  Dhu  could  have  called  to  his 
defence  a  hundred  men  with  swords. 

He  was  the  leader  and  lawgiver  of  his  generation. 

The  coat  was  very  large  for  him. 

Her  eyes  were  bright  and  her  hair  long. 

When  the  sun  sets  with  thin  clouds  in  the  atmosphere, 
the  colors  surrounding  it  are  often  gorgeous  to  behold. 

The  moonlight  is,  indeed,  very  pleasant  and  very  quiet  in 
its  effect,  on  this  bank. 

The  young  athlete  was  very  strong;  his  muscles  were 
well  developed  and  he  could  run  very  fast. 

When  Brutus  talked  with  Portia,  his  face  looked  very  sad, 
for  he  was  troubled  in  spirit. 

You  will  surely  not  refuse  to  defend  your  country,  now 
that  you  see  it  is  in  danger. 

Variety.  — Variety  of  expression  is  best  secured  by 
command  of  a  wide  vocabulary,  so  that  it  will  not  be 
necessary  to  use  again  and  again  the  same  word.  A 
language  like  the  English,  which  contains  etymological 
roots  from  so  many  sources,  furnishes  an  abundance  of 
synonyms,  so  that  study  and  wide  reading  will  make  it 
possible  for  a  writer  to  avoid  the  monotony  of  frequent 
repetitions.  A  little  attention  to  the  matter,  too,  will 
prevent  him  from  beginning  many  sentences  with  the 
same  order  of  modifier  and  subject.  After  making 
sure  that  he  has  expressed  his  main  idea  in  the  prin- 
cipal clause  and  his  subordinate  idea  in  the  dependent 
clause,  he  would  do  well  to  consider  whether  it  makes 
any  special  difference  which  part  comes  first.  Possibly 
an  adverbial  or  an  adjective  phrase  at  the  beginning 


SHORT  AND  LONG   SENTENCES.  187 

will  secure  pleasing  variation.  But  the  most  vital 
means  of  avoiding  sameness  of  structure  is  to  know  the 
literary  value  of  the  long  and  the  short  sentence. 


The  Short  Sentence.  —  A  short  sentence  usually  contains 
one  concisely  worded  assertion  or  question.  It  is 
clear;  it  is  rarely  incorrect;  it  is  often  forcible.  It 
gives  the  idea  at  once,  definitely,  without  modification. 
Such  sentences  are  easily  composed.  A  small  group  of 
short  sentences  is  usually  agreeable,  but  a  long  para- 
graph made  up  of  short  sentences  is  monotonous  and 
confusing. 


*&■ 


The  Long  Sentence.  —  A  long  sentence  gives  opportu- 
nity to  express  an  idea  with  fulness  and  with  all 
necessary  modifications.  It  is  capable  of  carrying 
rhythm  of  sound  as  well  as  flow  of  thought,  and  may 
be  both  strong  and  harmonious.  The  chief  disad- 
vantage of  a  long  sentence  lies  in  the  demand  which  it 
makes  upon  the  attention  of  the  hearer  or  reader.  It 
is  more  difficult  to  compose  than  a  short  sentence, 
because  modifying  clauses  tend  to  disturb  unity. 

Proportion  of  Short  and  Long  Sentences.  —  A  skilful 
writer  uses  both  short  and  long  sentences  :  short  sen- 
tences to  state  the  thought,  long  sentences  to  explain 
it ;  short  sentences  for  clearness  and  strength,  long 
sentences  for  rhythm  and  harmony.  The  proportion  of 
each  is  a  matter  of  individual  taste  and  judgment.  It 
cannot  be  said  that  one  is  better  than  the  other  ;  both 
are  essential  to  the  finish  and  grace  of  a  composition. 
The  tendenc}7-  of  present  writers  is  strongly  toward 
the  short  sentence  as  the  prevailing  type.     Even  the 


188  HIGHER   QUALITIES  OF  STYLE. 

long  sentence  of  to-day  is  appreciably  shorter  than  was 
the  long  sentence  of  eighteenth-century  writers. 

EXERCISE. 

Examine  the  following  paragraphs  to  determine  the  effects 
produced  by  short  and  long  sentences  :  — 

My  idea  is  nothing  more.  Refined  policy  ever  has  been 
the  parent  of  confusion,  and  ever  will  be  so,  as  long  as  the 
world  endures.  Plain,  good  intention,  which  is  as  easily 
discovered  at  the  first  view  as  fraud  is  surely  detected  at 
last,  is,  let  me  say,  of  no  mean  force  in  the  government  of 
mankind.  Genuine  simplicity  of  heart  is  a  healing  and 
cementing  principle.  My  plan,  therefore,  being  formed 
upon  the  most  simple  grounds  imaginable,  may  disappoint 
some  people,  when  they  hear  it.  It  has  nothing  to  recom- 
mend it  to  the  pruriency  of  curious  ears.  There  is  nothing 
at  all  new  and  captivating  in  it.  —  Bdrke  :  Conciliation  with  the 
Colonies. 

Hamlet  is  as  little  of  a  hero  as  a  man  can  well  be ;  but  he 
is  a  young  and  princely  novice,  full  of  high  enthusiasm  and 
quick  sensibility  —  the  sport  of  circumstances,  questioning 
with  fortune,  and  refining  on  his  own  feelings,  and  forced 
from  the  natural  bias  of  his  disposition  by  the  strangeness  of 
his  situation.  He  seems  incapable  of  deliberate  action,  and 
is  only  hurried  into  extremities  on  the  spur  of  the  occasion, 
when  he  has  no  time  to  reflect  —  as  in  the  scene  where  he 
kills  Polonius ;  and,  again,  where  he  alters  the  letters  which 
Rosencrantz  and  Guildenstern  are  taking  with  them  to 
England,  purporting  his  death. 

—  Hazlitt  :  The  Character  of  Hamlet. 

Digression.  —  Sometimes  there  is  among  writers  a 
seeming  tendency  to  forget  for  a  time  the  exact  topic 
upon  which  they  are  writing,  and    to    insert    in  their 


LITOTES  —  SMOOTHNESS.  189 

compositions  sentences  and  paragraphs  which  have 
a  bearing  on  the  general  subject,  but  which  have  very 
little  to  do  with  the  particular  topic  under  consider- 
ation. When  this  is  done  too  frequently,  or  when  it 
becomes  a  serious  obstacle  to  the  flow  of  thought,  it 
proves  to  be  a  defect  ;  otherwise  it  may  have  rhetorical 
value,  adding  variety  to  the  strictly  logical  train  of 
thought.  An  illustration  of  a  decided  digression  is 
furnished  in  the  elegy  of  Lycidas,  when  Milton  inveighs 
against  the  English  clergy. 

Litotes.  —  A  very  simple  device  for  securing  variety 
of  assertion  is  that  of  denying  the  opposite.  It  amounts 
to  making  the  statement  less  offensive  ;  as,  "  He  is  not 
perfect,"  is  another  way  of  indicating  that  a  man  has 
faults. 

Smoothness.  —  Good  connections  go  a  long  way  toward 
securing  smoothness.  It  is  especially  necessary  that 
transition  from  paragraph  to  paragraph  be  easy  and 
natural.  Agreeable  sound,  moreover,  is  an  important 
consideration.  The  writer  should  carefully  discrim- 
inate as  to  the  sounds  that  may  be  repeated  and  those 
that  may  not,  and  he  should  avoid  harsh  combinations. 

Value  of  Translation.  —  The  effort  of  taking  pains  in 
translating  another  tongue  into  the  English  language 
brings  its  reward.  The  student  who  daily  tries  to 
express  in  English  idiom  his  Latin,  Greek,  French,  or 
German  text,  is  doing  much  toward  mastering  smooth- 
ness of  style  ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  student  who  is 
satisfied  with  a  slovenly  rendering  of  these  texts  is 
slowly  parting  with  what  contributes  to  grace  and  finish 
in  his  mother-tongue. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

AEGUMENTATION. 

INDUCTIVE  REASONING  —  UNDERLYING  PRINCIPLE  OF 
ALL  INDUCTIVE  REASONING  —  LITERARY  FORM  OF 
INDUCTIVE  REASONING  —  PROPOSITIONS  —  DEDUC- 
TIVE   REASONING  —  THE    SYLLOGISM  —  ANTECEDENT 

PROBABILITY —  SUPPRESSED  PREMISES ARGUMENT 

FROM  CAUSE  —  FROM  EFFECT  BACK  TO  CAUSE  — 
METHOD  OF  EXCLUSION — ARGUMENT  FROM  SIGN  — 
ARGUMENT  FROM  ANALOGY  —  TESTIMONY  —  PROOF 
— REFUTATION  —  PERSUASION  —  DEBATE  —  SCHOOL 
DEBATE — HOW  TO  PREPARE  FOR  A  SCHOOL  DEBATE. 

Whenever  one  person  tries  to  influence  others  to 
think  as  he  thinks  or  to  do  as  he  wishes,  he  finds  it 
necessary  to  give  reasons.  It  is  not  enough  simply  to 
express  his  own  convictions ;  he  must  give  the  basis 
on  which  they  rest.  He  must  answer  the  question, 
"  Why  should  we  do  this  ?  "  or,  "  Why  should  we  think 
that  ?  " 

If  we  investigate,  we  shall  find  that  behind  all  of  our 
beliefs  and  conclusions  there  lie  in  our  minds  certain 
reasons  for  them.  These  may  be  good  or  they  may  be 
bad  ;  they  may  be  sufficient  to  support  the  conclusion 
or  they  may  not.  The  process  of  stating  these  in  such 
a  way  as  to  set  up  in  another's  mind  a  train  of  thought 
that  will  lead  him  to  reach  the  conclusion  that  we  have 
reached,  is  called  Argumentation. 

190 


INDUCTIVE  REASONING.  191 

EXERCISE. 

Write  the  reasons  why  you  believe  the  following  statements :  — 

Dark  clouds  betoken  rain. 

All  creatures  that  have  wings  can  fly. 

Snow  falls  in  winter  only. 

All  large  children  go  to  school. 

Every  one  who  rides  in  the  street-car  must  pay  fare. 

Make  a  list  of  conclusions  which  you  have  recently  tried  to 
induce  some  one  else  to  accept ;  and  give  the  result  of  your  efforts, 
by  answering  the  following  questions  :  — 

Did  you  succeed  ? 

What  reasons  did  you  give  ? 

Did  your  hearer  accept  all  your  reasons  as  good  ? 

Were  all  your  reasons  good  ? 

Did  you  make  a  personal  appeal  ? 

Did  you  choose  an  opportune  time  to  present  the  subject? 

If  you  were  debating  on  the  following  subjects,  which  side 
would  you  take,  and  why  ? 

Athens  or  Sparta  in  the  Peloponnesian  war. 

Kome  or  Carthage  in  the  Punic  wars. 

Napoleon  Bonaparte  or  the  Allies  in  the  Napoleonic  wars. 

Germany  or  France  in  the  war  of  1870. 

Japan  or  Russia  in  the  war  of  1904. 

The  above  list  may  be  indefinitely  enlarged.  It  is  suitable 
only  for  those  who  have  studied  history. 

Give  reasons  why  you  would  like  to  follow  any  one  of  the 
following  occupations :  — 

Of  a  farmer  —  teacher  —  merchant  —  doctor  —  miner  — 
clerk  —  lawyer  —  sailor  —  soldier. 

Inductive  Reasoning.  —  We  all  have  in  mind  certain 
general  truths  which  we  accept,  and  we  rarely  concern 


192  A  B  G  UMENTA  TION. 

ourselves  to  think  how  we  obtained  them.     Examples 
of  such  truths  are  :  — 

All  who  study  will  improve. 

All  fish  live  in  water. 

Every  one  should  learn  to  read  and  write. 

Diligence  gives  success. 

Honesty  is  the  best  policy. 

If  we  ask  ourselves  how  we  gained  these  general 
truths,  we  shall  find  that  in  every  case  they  are  con- 
clusions drawn  from  experience,  either  our  own  or  that 
of  others ;  usually  from  our  own  experience  strength- 
ened by  that  of  others.  This  kind  of  reasoning  we  call 
inductive. 

EXEECISE. 

Give  the  experiences  which  have  led  you  to  believe  the  fol- 
lowing conclusions  true. 

All  circuses  are  interesting  and  attractive. 

All  young  creatures  love  to  play. 

Every  bird  sleeps  with  its  head  under  its  wing. 

Nasturtiums  grow  best  in  sunny  locations. 

Industrious  people  are  successful. 

Hickory  nuts  are  delicious. 

All  of  Dickens'  stories  have  many  characters. 

Longfellow's  poems  are  chiefly  narrative. 

Whittier's  poems  are  intensely  patriotic. 

Long  school  hours  are  undesirable. 

Underlying-  Principle  of  Inductive  Reasoning.  —  If  we 
further  investigate  the  foundation  of  our  general  con- 
clusions, we  shall  find  that  they  are  all  based  upon  the 
principle  which  is  taken  for  granted  whenever  we  draw 
a  general  conclusion  from  a  number  of  separate  experi- 


THE  PROCESS    OF  INDUCTIVE  REASONING.      193 

ences  ;  that  is,  whenever  we  reason  inductively.  The 
principle  is  this  :  — 

What  is  true  of  several  members  of  a  class  is  true  of 
that  class  as  a  whole. 

This  principle  is  taken  for  granted  because  all  human 
experience  sustains  it ;  and  so  continuous  and  so  uniform 
has  been  this  experience  that  when  we  find  a  certain 
condition  true  of  several  objects,  we  say  that  the  same 
thing  is  true  of  the  entire  class  of  objects  to  which  these 
few  belong.  Because  the  sun  has  risen  in  the  east  for 
ages,  we  believe  that  it  will  continue  to  rise  in  the  east ; 
because,  heretofore,  clouds  have  brought  rain,  we  believe 
they  will  continue  to  do  so. 

The  Process  of  Inductive  Reasoning.  —  The  following  is 
the  actual  process  of  all  inductive  reasoning. 
I.    Assumption:    what  is  true  of  several  members  of 

a  class  is  true  of  the  class  as  a  whole. 
II.    Observation  of  Facts. 
III.    Conclusion. 

EXERCISE. 

Write  out  in  form  the  reasoning  by  which  you  reach  the  follow- 
ing conclusions :  — 

Every  secondary  school  of  standing  has  a  base-ball  team. 
Every  person  should  learn  to  swim. 
Delays  are  dangerous. 
Reading  newspapers  is  profitable. 
Orderly  habits  save  time. 
Necessity  is  a  friend  —  not  an  enemy. 
Most  victories  are  secured  in  advance. 
We  are  convinced  more  quickly  by  what  we  see  than  by 
what  we  hear. 


194  ARGUMENTATION. 

Write  three  proverbs  which  rest  upon  a  process  of  induction, 
and  analyze  the  reasoning  involved. 

Name  several  weather  prophecies  and  farming  maxims  which 
have  an  inductive  basis. 

State  several  scientific  laws  in  physics,  or  chemistry,  or  botany, 
which  seem  to  you  to  be  conclusions  drawn  from  inductive  reason- 
ing.    Analyze  the  reasoning. 

The    Literary    Form    of    Inductive    Reasoning.  —  The 

literary  method  of  expressing  an  inductive  argument 
often  places  the  conclusion  first,  and  afterwards  the 
instances  from  which  this  conclusion  is  drawn.  This 
is  a  reversal  of  the  mental  process,  but  it  seems  to  be 
the  best  way  to  hold  the  attention  and  lead  the  mind 
of  another  to  the  desired  conclusion.  The  following 
examples  will  illustrate  :  — 

The  voices  of  animals  have  a  family  character  not  to  be 
mistaken.  All  the  Canidae  bark  and  howl ;  the  fox,  the 
wolf,  the  dog,  have  the  same  kind  of  utterance,  though  on  a 
somewhat  different  pitch.  All  the  bears  growl,  from  the 
white  bear  of  the  arctic  snows  to  the  small  black  bear  of  the 
Andes.  All  the  cats  miau,  from  our  quiet  fireside  companion 
to  the  lions  and  tigers  and  panthers  of  the  forest  and  jungle. 
This  last  may  seem  a  strange  assertion ;  but  to  any  one  who 
has  listened  critically  to  their  sounds  and  analyzed  their 
voices,  the  roar  of  the  lion  is  but  a  gigantic  miau.  Again, 
all  the  horses  and  donkeys  neigh  ;  for  the  bray  of  the  donkey 
is  only  a  harsher  neigh,  pitched  on  a  different  key,  it  is  true, 
but  a  sound  of  the  same  character,  — as  the  donkey  himself 
is  but  a  clumsy  and  dwarfish  horse.  All  the  cows  low,  from 
the  buffalo  roaming  the  prairie,  the  musk-ox  of  the  arctic 
ice-fields,  or  the  yak  of  Asia,  to  the  cattle  feeding  in  our 
pastures — Louis  Agassiz  :  Lowell  Institute  Lectures. 


LITERARY  FORM  OF  INDUCTIVE  REASONING.       195 

Let  us  draw  a  lesson  from  Nature,  which  always  works 
by  short  ways.  When  the  fruit  is  ripe,  it  falls.  When  the 
fruit  is  despatched,  the  leaf  falls.  The  circuit  of  the  waters 
is  mere  falling.  The  walking  of  man  and  all  animals 
is  falling  forward.  All  our  manual  labor  and  works  of 
strength,  as  prying,  splitting,  digging,  rowing,  and  so  forth, 
are  done  by  dints  of  continual  falling,  and  the  globe,  earth, 
moon,  comet,  sun,  star,  —  fall  forever  and  ever. 

—  Emerson:   Spiritual  Laws. 

EXERCISE. 

Arrange  in  form  Agassiz's  inductive  argument  by  which  he 
reaches  his  general  conclusion,  that 

The  voices  of  animals  have  a  family  character  not  to 
be  mistaken. 

Note  the  number  of  examples  which  he  gives  as  a  basis  for  his 
conclusion. 

Arrange  Emerson's  argument  in  form. 

Support  the  following  conclusions  with  examples  that  occur  to 
you :  — 

Yet  I  doubt  not  through  the  ages  one  eternal  purpose  runs, 

And  the  minds  of  men  are  broadened  with  the  process  of 

the  suns.  — Tennyson  :  Locksley  Hall. 

The  man  who  seeks  one  thing  in  life,  and  but  one, 
May  hope  to  achieve  it  before  life  is  done  ; 
But  he  who  seeks  all  things,  wherever  he  goes, 
Only  reaps  from  the  hopes  which  around  him  he  sows, 
A  harvest  of  barren  regrets.      —  Owen  Meredith  :  Lucile. 

Labor  is  rest  from  the  sorrows  that  greet  us, 
Rest  from  all  petty  vexations  that  meet  us. 

—  Osgood  :  Labor. 


196  ARGUMENTATION. 

Value  of  an  Induction  increased  by  Wide  Experience.  — ■ 

Observation  will  show  that  inductive  conclusions  vary 
in  value  from  virtual  certainty  to  remote  probability. 
The  probability  of  a  general  conclusion  is  increased  in 
proportion  as  the  number  of  instances  from  which  it  is 
established  is  enlarged.  An  induction  drawn  from  very 
few  instances  can  be  nothing  more  than  a  probability. 
For  example,  the  conclusion, 

In  latitude  40°  the  sun  rises  daily  in  the  east, 
is  based  upon  the  experience  of  mankind  through  a 
period  of  ages.  The  number  of  individual  instances 
is  so  great,  that  is,  the  sun  has  risen  so  many  times 
in  the  east,  that  the  general  proposition  may  be  said 
to  express  certainty. 

A  conclusion  as  to  the  best  soil  for  the  cultivation  of 
rose  bushes  based  upon  the  observation  of  ten  bushes 
could  be  nothing  more  than  probability  ;  but  if  a 
thousand  bushes  in  different  locations  were  observed, 
the  conclusion  might  be  almost  certainty ;  because, 
although  in  the  case  of  ten  bushes  some  other  influence 
besides  soil  might  have  been  powerful,  this  could  hardly 
be  true  in  the  case  of  a  thousand  bushes. 

Inductive  Conclusion  changed  from  General  to  Limited 
Form.  —  A  general  inductive  conclusion  becomes  a 
limited  inductive  conclusion  whenever  one  instance  is 
found  that  contradicts  it.  For  example,  the  general 
proposition, 

Every  bird  sleeps  with  its  head  under  its  wing, 

is  sound,  until  a  bird  is  found  which  does  not  sleep 
in  that  position ;  then  the  general  proposition  is  over- 
thrown, and  in  its  place  stands, 


AFFIRMATIVE  PROPOSITIONS.  197 

Many  birds  sleep  with  head  under  wing. 

That  is,  the  observed  eases  warrant  a  limited  conclu- 
sion only. 

Kinds  of  Propositions. —  General  truths  are  stated  in 
the  form  of  general  or  universal  propositions,  either 
affirmative  or  negative;  specific  truths  in  the  form 
of  particular  propositions,  either  affirmative  or  nega- 
tive. 

All  men  are  mortal 

is  a  general  affirmative  proposition. 

No  fishes  live  on  land 
is  a  general  negative  proposition. 

This  plant  is  a  geranium 
is  a  particular  affirmative  proposition. 

This  plant  is  not  a  rose 
is  a  particular  negative  proposition. 

General  Affirmative  Propositions.  —  As  we  have  already 
seen,  there  are  few  general  propositions  which  can  be 
accepted  without  reservation,  because  very  rarely  can 
anything  be  positively  asserted  about  an  entire  group 
of  objects.  There  are,  nevertheless,  many  general  propo- 
sitions which  are  true  in  most  instances  and  which  we 
accept.     The  exceptions  to  them  must  be  considered  as 

they  appear. 

All  who  study  will  improve 

is  a  general  proposition,  true  for  all  except  those  men- 
tally or  physically  incapable  of  improvement. 

A  fruitful  source  of  unsound  reasoning  is  the  as- 
sumption that  because  a  general  proposition  is  true,  its 


198  ARGUMENTATION. 

converse  is  also  true.     As  a  matter  of  fact,  its  converse 

is  usually  false. 

All  men  are  mortal 

is  true  ;  but  its  converse, 

All  mortal  beings  are  men, 

is  obviously  not  true.     In  any  case,  the  converse  is  an 
entirely  new  proposition  and  must  be  judged  by  itself. 

EXERCISE. 

Determine  whether  the  following  general  propositions  are 
always  true  or   true  only  in  most  instances. 

All  men  are  mortal. 

All  snow  is  frozen  water. 

All  birds  can  fly. 

Every  bird  has  feathers. 

No  fish  can  fly. 

No  figs  grow  on  thistles. 

Write  the  converse  of  these  general  statements,  and  determine 
if  these  converse  statements  are  true. 

Write  several  propositions  of  the  following  kinds :  general  nega- 
tive ;  particular  affirmative  ;  particular  negative  ;  general  affirma- 
tive. 

Write  the  converse  of  these,  and  determine  in  each  case  if  the 
converse  is  true. 

Inductive  and  Deductive  Reasoning. —  In  our  study  of 
reasoning  processes,  heretofore,  we  have  noted  individ- 
ual facts  or  experiences,  and  from  these  have  tried  to 
establish  general  conclusions.  We  have  seen  that  the 
greater  the  number  of  particular  cases  observed,  the 
more  likely  is  the  conclusion  to  be  true. 

Sometimes  we  reason  in  another  way.  We  accept  a 
general  conclusion  as  true,  and  then  proceed  to  establish 


THE  SYLLOGISM.  199 

this  conclusion  in  particular  cases.  What  is  true  of 
all  men  is  true  of  one  man.  What  is  true  of  all  roses 
is  true  of  one  rose.  This  kind  of  reasoning  is  called 
deductive. 

The  two  methods  may  be  defined  as  follows :  Induc- 
tive reasoning  proceeds  from  many  particular  instances 
to  establish  a  general  truth.  Deductive  reasoning  ac- 
cepts the  general  truth  and  proceeds  to  establish  it  in 
a  particular  instance.  The  one  proceeds  from  the  par- 
ticular to  the  universal  ;  the  other  from  the  universal 
to  the  particular.  For  example,  the  observation  of 
hundreds  of  roses  may  lead  us  to  conclude  : 

All  roses  have  prickly  stems. 

This  is  our  general  truth.  Accepting  it  we  assert  that 
the  stem  of  the  rose  which  is  standing  in  a  vase  is 
prickly,  though  we  have  not  touched  it.  This  is 
reasoning  from  the  universal  to  the  particular.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  we  reason  in  this  way  continually ;  we 
are  daily  accepting  general  conclusions  and  making 
judgment  in  particular  cases  under  them. 

The  Syllogism. — In  order  to  place  the  parts  of  a  de- 
ductive argument  clearly  before  the  mind,  so  that  one 
may  see  exactly  what  is  asserted,  just  what  is  taken 
for  granted,  how  much  the  argument  will  prove,  and 
where  the  errors,  if  any,  really  are,  logicians  use  a 
logical  formula  called  the  syllogism. 

The  syllogism  consists  of  two  propositions  called 
premises,  together  with  a  third  proposition,  which  is  a 
truth  deduced  from  them.  This  third  proposition  is 
called  the  conclusion. 


200  ARGUMENTATION. 

Major  Premise      .     .     .  All  fish  live  in  water. 
Minor  Premise      .     .     .  This  creature  is  a  fish. 
Conclusion This  creature  lives  in  water. 

The  major  premise  in  this  example  is  a  general  affirma- 
tive proposition  ;  the  minor  premise  and  the  conclusion 
are  particular  affirmative  propositions.  The  predicate 
of  the  major  premise  is  called  the  major  term;  the  sub- 
ject of  the  minor  premise  is  the  minor  term;  and  the  term 
which  appears  twice  in  the  premises  is  the  middle  term. 
In  the  entire  syllogism  each  term  appears  twice.  Each 
term  is  expressed  throughout  the  syllogism  in  the  same 
form  of  words.  In  order  that  the  syllogism  shall 
produce  a  logical  conclusion,  it  is  necessary  that  the 
middle  term  should  be  used  in  a  universal  sense  at  least 
once. 

In  this  example,  live  in  water  is  the  major  term.  This 
creature  is  the  minor  term.  Fish,  the  term  that  appears 
twice  in  the  premises,  is  the  middle  term.  Observe 
that  the  middle  term,  fish,  does  not  appear  in  the 
conclusion. 

The  syllogism  is  merely  a  form ;  when  used  in  a  dis- 
cussion, the  validity  of  all  its  statements  cannot  be 
established,  unless  the  meaning  of  all  the  words  is 
clearly  understood. 

The  essential  points  to  be  determined  in  a  syllogism 
are  :  — 

Is  the  general  proposition  true  ? 

Is  the  particular  proposition  true  ? 

Is  the  particular  object  under  consideration  really 
included  in  the  class  to  which  it  is  assigned  ? 

Is  there  any  universal  assertion  made  concerning  the 
class  to  which  this  particular  object  belongs  ? 


THE  SYLLOGISM.  201 

Let  us  test  by  these  requirements  the  following  syl- 
logism :  — 

All  fish  live  in  water. 
This  creature  is  a  iish. 
This  creature  lives  in  water. 

We  find  that  the  major  premise  is  true ;  that  the 
minor  premise  is  true ;  and  that  the  object,  a  fish,  is 
included  in  all  fish  ;  so  that  the  conclusion  is  true  ;  for 
what  is  asserted  of  all  fish  is  obviously  true  of  one  fish. 
Suppose,  however,  that  our  major  and  minor  premises 
are  as  follows  :  — 

All  fish  live  in  water. 
This  creature  lives  in  water. 

We  cannot  rightfully  conclude  that  this  creature  is  a 
fish;  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  may  be  a  tadpole. 

Applying  our  tests,  we  see  that  in  the  major  premise 
the  only  universal  assertion  is  concerning  all  fish  and  that 
the  minor  premise  says  nothing  about  a  fish  ;  it  mentions 
a  creature  that  lives  in  the  water. 

Again,  suppose  that  our  major  and  minor  premises 
read  as  follows  :  — 

All  creatures  that  live  in  the  water  are  fish. 
This  is  a  creature  that  lives  in  the  water. 

The  logical  conclusion  would  follow  :  — 

This  creature  is  a  fish. 

The  creature,  however,  may  be  an  oyster,  and  we 
should  at  once  assert  that  the  major  premise  is  not  true 
and  that  from  false  premises  no  conclusion  could  right- 
fully be  drawn. 


202  ARGUMENTATION. 

EXERCISE. 

Name  the  major  premise,  the  minor  premise,  the  major  term,  the 
minor  term,  the  middle  term,  and  give  the  conclusion  to  complete 
each  of  the  following  syllogisms.  Note  carefully  whether  or  not 
a  conclusion  can  be  reached,  and  in  each  case  state  reasons. 

All  unripe  apples  are  unwholesome. 
This  apple  is  unripe. 
All  men  are  mortal. 
Nicholas  is  mortal. 

All  tigers  belong  to  the  cat  family. 

This  Angora  kitten  belongs  to  the  cat  family. 

All  first-year  high  school  pupils  study  algebra. 
This  girl  is  a  first-year  high  school  pupil. 

All  butterflies  can  fly. 
This  insect  is  a  butterfly. 
Some  Germans  are  deep  thinkers. 
This  man  is  a  German. 

Give  the  general  propositions  implied  in  the  following  state- 
ments :  — 

Automobiles  should  be  excluded  from  the  public  roads 
because  they  frighten  horses. 

Long-distance  running  races  are  injurious,  for  they  strain 
the  heart. 

Give  in  the  form  of  a  syllogism  the  reasoning  which  directs  the 
acts  indicated  :  — 

Locking  the  door  of  a  city  house  after  a  person  goes  out. 
Taking  an  umbrella  when  one  goes  to  walk  on  a  cloudy  day. 
Closing  the  eyes  when  trying  to  memorize  a  lesson. 
Sowing  seeds  in  the  spring  instead  of  in  the  summer. 
Buying  a  card  of  tickets  for  rides  on  the  street-car,  instead 
of  paying  coin  for  each  ride. 


ANTECEDENT  PROBABILITY.  203 

Antecedent  Probability.  —  The  argument  of  antecedent 
probability  is  a  common  form  of  deductive  reasoning. 
The  conclusion  in  this  case  is  an  inference  based  upon 
something  which  we  already  know.  For  example,  a 
charge  of  embezzlement  is  made  against  a  man  who  has 
been  known  for  years  as  an  upright  citizen.  Without 
knowing  any  of  the  facts  in  the  case,  we  argue  that  the 
charge  is  not  true,  for  his  past  life  contradicts  it. 

The  argument  of  antecedent  probability  in  this 
instance  may  be  stated  in  the  form  of  a  double  syllo- 
gism :  — 

This  man's  acts  that  we  do  not  know  are  probably  the 
same  as  his  acts  that  we  do  know. 

This  act  is  one  of  his  acts  that  we  do  not  know. 

This  act  is  probably  the  same  as  his  acts  that  we  do  know. 

All  his  acts  that  we  know  are  honorable. 
This  act  is  probably  like  the  acts  we  know. 
This  act  is  probably  honorable. 

Although  this  argument  establishes  nothing  beyond 
probability,  nevertheless  it  cannot  be  broken  down 
except  by  evidence. 

EXERCISE. 

Follow  out  the  argument  of  antecedent  probability  in  the 
following  cases  :  — 

Wherefore,  if  God  so  clothe  the  grass  of  the  field,  which 
to-day  is,  and  to-morrow  is  cast  into  the  oven,  shall  he  not 
much  more  clothe  you,  0  ye  of  little  faith?  —  St.  Matthewvi,  30. 

Are  not  two  sparrows  sold  for  a  farthing?  and  one  of 
them  shall  not  fall  on  the  ground  without  your  Father.  But 
the  very  hairs  of  your  head  are  all  numbered.  Fear  ye  not 
therefore,  ye  are  of  more  value  than  many  sparrows. 

—  St.  Matthew  x,  29-31. 


204  ARGUMENTATION. 

Suppressed  Premise.  —  It  rarely  occurs  in  literature  that 
a  syllogism  is  fully  stated.  Sometimes  only  the  minor 
premise  is  stated  ;  sometimes  the  minor  premise  and  the 
conclusion.  The  major  premise  is  usually  taken  for 
granted,  and  because  it  is  taken  for  granted  much 
unsound  reasoning  is  accepted  by  those  who  would  be 
perfectly  competent  to  detect  the  sophistry  if  the  entire 
argument  were  placed  before  them. 

An  example  of  suppressed  premise  is  found  in  Macau- 
lay's  Essay  on  Milton,  where  he  argues  that  the  enjoy- 
ment of  poetry  is  the  sign  of  a  certain  unsoundness 
of  mind.  The  argument  is  really  a  syllogism  with  the 
major  premise  suppressed.     It  is  as  follows  :  — • 

Perhaps  no  person  can  be  a  poet,  or  can  even  enjoy  poetry, 
without  a  certain  unsoundness  of  mind,  if  anything  which 
gives  so  much  pleasure  ought  to  be  called  unsoundness.  By 
poetry  we  mean  not  all  writing  in  verse,  nor  even  all  good 
writing  in  verse.  By  poetry  we  mean  the  art  of  employing 
words  in  such  a  manner  as  to  produce  an  illusion  on  the 
imagination,  the  art  of  doing  by  means  of  words  what  the 
painter  does  by  means  of  colors. 

Stated  in  the  form  of  a  syllogism,  the  argument 
appears  as  follows  :  — 

All  who  yield  to  illusions  are  to  a  certain  degree  of 
unsound  mind. 

Poets  and  lovers  of  poetry  are  persons  who  yield  to 
illusions. 

Poets  and  lovers  of  poetry  are  to  a  certain  degree  of 
unsound  mind. 

The  conclusion  is  the  only  part  of  the  syllogism  that 
is  clearly  expressed.  If  you  accept  the  premises  you 
must   accept  the    conclusion  ;    the  only    way    to  deny 


ARGUMENT  FROM   CAUSE.  205 

Macaulay's  conclusion  is  to  deny  one    or  both  of   his 
premises. 

Another  illustration  of  the  suppressed  premise  is 
furnished  in  Burke's  Speech  on  Conciliation.  At  the 
point  where  he  states  that  Parliament  must  decide 
either  to  make  concessions  to  the  colonies  or  not  to  make 
them,  he  proceeds  to  recount  the  number  of  inhabitants 
in  the  colonies,  the  extent  of  England's  export  trade 
with  them,  the  extent  of  their  agriculture,  and  the  value 
of  their  fisheries.  Each  of  these  points  is  the  minor 
premise  of  a  syllogism.  In  the  first  of  these  the  omitted 
major  premise,  in  brackets,  fills  out  the  syllogism. 

[All  communities  made  up  of  many  inhabitants  are 
worthy  of  consideration  and  concessions.] 

The  colonies  are  communities  of  many  inhabitants. 

The  colonies  are  worthy  of  consideration  and  concessions. 

This  conclusion  he  assumes  but  does  not  formally  state. 
If  the  major  premise   is  accepted  as  true,   Burke's 
conclusion  is  inevitable  and  must  be  accepted. 

Argument  from  Cause.  —  Arguments  from  cause  in- 
clude those  propositions  which,  if  they  were  granted, 
would  account  for  the  result.  The  test  is  to  grant  the 
proposition  to  be  true;  then,  if  this  proposition  will 
account  for  the  condition,  the  reasoning  is  an  argument 
from  cause.     A  general  statement  of  it  would  be :  — 

If  A  is  B,  then  C  is  D. 

When  we  know  that  A  is  B,  then  we  can  assert  that  C  is  D. 

An  example  of  this  kind  of  reasoning  is  the  follow- 
ing :  — 

If  a  child  puts  his  hand  into  boiling  water,  it  will  be  scalded 


206  ARGUMENTA  TION. 

If  it  is  known  to  be  true  that  the  child  did  put  his 
hand  into  boiling  water,  this  fact  will  account  for -the 
scalded  condition  of  his  hand  and  would  be  an  example 
of  a  conclusive  argument  from  cause. 

If  the  man  takes  poison,  he  will  die. 

It  may  be  true  that  the  man  has  taken  poison,  and 
the  probability  is  that  he  will  die ;  but  that  is  by  no 
means  certain,  because  he  may  not  have  taken  sufficient 
poison  to  produce  death,  or  he  may  have  taken  an  anti- 
dote immediately.  The  cause  may  exist,  but  the  result 
may  be  prevented. 

In  any  argument  from  cause,  we  must  always  look 
for  the  modifying  influences  which  will  affect  the  result. 
It  is  also  true  that  a  given  cause  may  be  adequate  to 
produce  several  results ;  in  that  event  we  can  reach  no 
conclusion.  For  example,  an  automobile  runs  over  a 
child ;  this  fact  is  a  cause,  but  the  effect  may  be  one  of 
several.  He  may  be  killed;  his  leg  may  be  broken; 
his  arm  may  be  broken  ;  or  he  may  escape  injury.  All 
that  can  be  asserted  from  the  cause  is  a  probable  result ; 
the  cause  exists,  but  the  effect  is  unknown  and  must  be 
established  by  knowledge,  not  by  argument.  We  must 
consider  an  argument  from  cause  as  establishing  proba- 
bility only. 

EXERCISE. 

In  the  following  cases  of  argument  from  cause,  which  of  the 
causes  establish  probability  only?  Does  any  one  establish  cer- 
tainty ? 

If  the  child  goes  to  school,  he  will  learn  to  read. 
After  the  sun  rises,  it  will  be  hot. 

If  the  wind  blows  hard,  there  will  be  high  waves  in  the 
lake. 


ARGUMENT  FROM  EFFECT  BACK   TO   CAUSE.      207 

If  you  water  your  plants,  they  will  grow. 
If  a  man  deals  justly,  lie  will  establish  a  character  for 
integrity. 

If  you  love  animals,  you  will  treat  them  kindly. 
If  you  have  learned  your  lesson,  you  can  recite  it. 
If  you  eat  that  box  of  candy,  you  will  have  a  headache. 
If  you  sit  in  a  draught,  you  will  take  cold. 

Argument  from  Effect  back  to  Cause.  —  The  attempt  to 
argue  from  effect  back  to  cause  leads  to  much  unsound 
reasoning^.  The  source  of  error  lies  in  the  fact  that 
many  different  causes  may  be  adequate  to  produce  a 
given  effect,  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  tell  which  cause 
produced  the  effect.  Consequently,  when  we  are 
reasoning  back  from  the  effect  to  the  cause,  it  is  quite 
possible  for  us  to  select  as  a  cause  something  that  had 
nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  effect.  Only  when  we 
know  that  one  cause  and  one  alone  could  have  produced 
the  effect,  can  we  reach  a  certain  conclusion.     We  say  :  — 

There  is  ice  on  the  pond,  therefore  the  temperature  must 
have  fallen  to  32°  F. 

The  ice  on  the  pond  is  an  effect,  and  we  name  the 
only  cause  that  is  adequate  to  produce  that  effect. 
The  temperature  of  32°  F.  is  not  only  a  cause ;  it  is  at 
the  same  time  a  condition  without  which  the  ice  could 
not  be  there. 

Assuming  a  particular  cause  from  a  given  effect  is  an 
error  that  appears  again  and  again  in  popular  argu- 
mentation. 

We  may  say  :  — 

If  John  has  had  his  breakfast,  he  is  not  hungry. 


208  ARGUMENTATION. 

We  may  know  that  John  is  not  hungry  ;  but  we 
should  hesitate  to  assert  positively  from  that  fact  that 
he  has  just  had  his  breakfast ;  he  may  have  just  had 
his  dinner,  or  he  may  be  ill. 

All  that  the  argument  from  effect  to  cause  can  legiti- 
mately give  is  probability,  unless  the  cause  selected  is 
also  a  condition. 

As  an  example  of  an  effect  which  might  be  produced 
by  several  different  causes,  take  that  of  an  apple  fall- 
ing from  a  tree. 

Possible  Causes.  Effect. 

It  may  be  ripe. 

It  may  be  diseased. 

The    wind    may    have   torn   it    from 

, ,      .         ,  y     The  apple  falls, 

the  branch.  rr 

Some    one    in    the    tree    may    have 

dropped  it. 

From   the   effect,  the   apple  falls,  no  one  cause  can 

be  asserted  absolutely.     The  possible  causes  must  be 

considered  by  the  aid  of  testimony  or  observation. 

EXERCISE. 

Name  several  causes  that  might  produce  the  result  in  each  of 
the  following  instances  :  — 

A  fire  in  a  business  block. 

The  plants  in  the  garden  are  dead. 

The  Russians  were  defeated  by  the  Japanese. 

The  X  foot-ball  team  won  the  game. 

Edward  was  made  president  of  his  class. 

Harvard  University  is  an  institution  of  high  rank. 

The  boy  has  taken  cold. 

The  school  was  dismissed  for  a  day. 


METHOD    OF  EXCLUSION.  209 

Method  of  Exclusion.  —  The  method  of  reasoning  by 
which  we  arrive  at  the  probable  cause  is  that  of  exclusion. 

We  consider  and  rule  out,  one  after  another,  each 
possible  cause,  as  either  not  present  or  not  working. 
In  the  case  of  the  falling  apple,  the  possible  causes  may 
be  narrowed  to  one  or  two.  If  the  time  is  early  sum- 
mer, the  apple  is  not  ripe.  If  no  one  was  in  the  tree, 
it  was  not  thrown  down.  If  the  air  is  quiet,  it  was 
not  torn  off  by  the  wind.  One  cause  alone  remains,  the 
apple  is  diseased.  If  upon  investigation  it  is  found  to 
have  been  stung,  then  the  probable  cause  becomes  the 
certain  cause. 

The  method  of  exclusion  is  used  in  general  argument 
when  we  wish  to  prove  that  a  given  plan  is  the  best 
for  a  certain  purpose.  Wc  seek  to  prove  that  every 
other  plan  is  unsatisfactory.  Burke  uses  this  method 
in  his  Speech  on  Conciliation,  when,  having  set  forth  the 
uncontrollable  spirit  of  liberty  which  existed  in  the 
colonies,  he  goes  on  to  say  that  there  are  but  three 
modes  of  procedure.     These  are  :  — 

To  change  that  spirit  by  removing  its  causes ; 
To  prosecute  it  as  criminal ; 
To  comply  with  it  as  necessary. 

Burke  proceeds  to  show,  first,  that  the  causes  can- 
not be  removed  ;  second,  that  to  prosecute  this  spirit 
of  liberty  as  criminal  is  "  inexpedient  and  inapplicable." 
Then,  assuming  that  he  has  excluded  the  first  and  the 
second  modes  of  procedure,  he  goes  on  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  third  mode,  "  to  comply  with  the  demands 
of  this  spirit  of  liberty  as  necessary,"  is  established. 
But  every  student  of  history  knows  that  the  majority 


210  ARGUMENTATION. 

of  the  English  Parliament  did  not  agree  with  Burke  in 
the  exclusion  of  the  second  mode  of  procedure. 

Error  of  Confounding  Sequence  of  Events  with  Cause  and 
Effect.  —  Another  fruitful  source  of  error  lies  in  con- 
founding sequence  of  events  with  cause  and  effect. 
One  event  may  precede  another  without  being  the 
cause  of  it.  Because  a  pupil  loses  his  book  upon  the 
street-car,  it  is  not  fair  to  consider  the  fact  of  his  riding 
as  the  cause  of  the  loss. 

Argument  from  Sign.  —  Arguments  from  sign  are  often 
used  as  proof.  If  two  conditions  always  occur  together, 
the  presence  of  one  is  the  sign  of  the  presence  of  the 
other.  The  American  flag  floating  above  one  or  both 
wings  of  the  Capitol  at  Washington  is  the  sign  that 
either  the  House  or  the  Senate,  or  both  houses  of 
Congress,  are  in  session  ;  hence  the  raised  flag  is  taken 
as  proof  that  legislative  business  is  being  transacted 
beneath  it.  Gray  hair  is  a  sign  of  age,  and  it  may  be 
taken  as  a  proof  of  age  unless  some  other  cause  can  be 
established  for  its  existence.  The  value  of  argu- 
ment from  sign  varies  through  strong  probability  to 
certainty. 

EXERCISE. 

How  do  you  know  that  a  man  on  the  street  is  a  policeman  ? 
A  letter  carrier?    A  soldier? 

What  indicates  that  a  vessel  in  mid-ocean  is  English,  American, 
or  French  ? 

What  would  you  conclude  concerning  a  man  who  is  pictured 
with  a  crown  on  his  head  ?  A  child  who  wears  spectacles  ?  A  flag 
at  half  mast?  A  man  with  a  crutch?  A  red  light  in  the  roadway? 
The  tolling  of  a  church  bell? 


ARGUMENT  FROM  ANALOGY.  211 

Argument  from  Analogy. —  Another  form  of  reasoning 
not  strictly  either  deductive  or  inductive  is  the  argu- 
ment from  analogy:  the  argument  from  history.  In 
effect  it  says  that  like  causes  have  like  results,  and  its 
value  depends  upon  the  extent  and  degree  of  the  like- 
ness. We  find  an  example  of  this  kind  of  argument  in 
the  famous  speech  of  Patrick  Henry,  when  he  cried  out, 

Caesar  had  his  Brutus,  Charles  the  First  his  Cromwell, 
and  George  the  Third  —  may  profit  by  their  example. 

The  advantages  of  this  method  of  argument  are  that 
it  is  popular  with  audiences  ;  it  gives  opportunity  for  a 
speaker  to  display  his  wit  or  his  learning  ;  it  is  valuable 
in  many  cases  where  a  full  deductive  or  inductive  argu- 
ment is  impossible  ;  and  it  is  especially  valuable  in  any 
endeavor  to  forecast  the  future  conditions  of  individuals 
or  nations.     The  following  is  an  excellent  example  :  — 

Money  is  now  exactly  what  mountain  promontories  over 
public  roads  were  in  old  times.  The  barons  fought  for  them 
fairly;  the  strongest  and  cunningest  got  them  ;  then  forti- 
fied them ;  and  made  every  one  who  passed  below  pay  toll. 
Well,  capital  now  is  exactly  what  crags  were  then.  Men  fight 
fairly  (we  will  at  least  grant  so  much,  though  it  is  more  than 
we  ought)  for  their  money ;  but,  once  having  got  it,  the  for- 
tified millionaire  can  make  everybody  who  passes  below  pay 
toll  to  his  million,  and  build  another  tower  of  his  money 
castle.  And  I  tell  you,  the  poor  vagrants  of  the  roadside 
suffer  now  quite  as  much  from  the  bag-baron  as  ever  they 
did  from  the  crag-baron.  Bags  and  crags  have  just  the  same 
result  on  rags.  —  Ruskin  :  Crown  of  Wild  Olives. 

Weakness  of  the  Argument  from  Analogy.  —  Danger  lurks 
in  the  use  of  this  argument.     The  things  that  are  com- 


212  ARGUMENTATION. 

pared  must  be  alike  in  those  respects  for  which  they  are 
compared,  otherwise  the  argument  has  no  value  ;  and 
the  most  that  an  argument  from  analogy  can  give  is 
probability. 

Testimony.  —  The  three  rules  of  testimony  are  easily 
understood  and  readily  accepted. 

First,  the  person  giving  testimony  should  be  capable 
of  observation. 

Second,  he  should  be  able  to  report  accurately  what 
he  has  observed. 

Third,  he  should  have  a  desire  to  tell  the  truth. 

Yet  so  heedless  are  we  all,  so  treacherous  is  memory, 
so  slight  a  thing  may  render  incapable  a  person  who 
ordinarily  is  capable  of  accurate  observation,  that  the 
unsupported  testimony  of  one  person  is  rarely,  if  ever, 
accepted  as  conclusive  proof.  .  But  if  this  testimony  is 
corroborated  by  that  of  others,  or  is  supported  by  circum- 
stantial evidence,  the  probability  that  it  is  true  is  greatly 
strengthened.  The  danger  of  relying  upon  the  unsup- 
ported testimony  of  a  single  witness  has  been  recognized 
throughout  the  history  of  mankind.  The  great  law- 
giver of  the  Israelites,  Moses,  enjoined  :  — 

At  the  mouth  of  two  witnesses,  or  three  witnesses,  shall 
he  that  is  worthy  of  death  be  put  to  death ;  but  at  the  mouth 
of  one  witness  he  shall  not  be  put  to  death. 

—  Deuteronomy  xvii,  6. 

One  witness  shall  not  rise  up  against  a  man  for  any 
iniquity,  or  for  any  sin,  in  any  sin  that  he  sinneth  :  at  the 
mouth  of  two  witnesses,  or  at  the  mouth  of  three  witnesses, 
shall  the  matter  be  established.  —Deuteronomy  xix,  15. 


PROOF.  213 

In  weighing  the  value  of  testimony,  it  is  necessary  to 
make  careful  distinction  between  matters  of  fact  and 
matters  of  opinion ;  between  what  a  witness  knows 
and  what  he  believes.  The  one  may  be  very  valuable, 
the  other  wholly  worthless. 

Proof.  —  It  is  evident  from  a  review  of  the  different 
forms  of  argument  that  probability  is  about  all  that 
they  are  capable  of  giving.  Proof  then,  as  we  use  the 
term  in  ordinary  affairs,  means  something  less  than 
certainty.  We  may  be  certain  in  mathematical  demon- 
strations, but  not  in  human  affairs.  Nor  should  the 
laws  of  science,  obtained  by  induction,  be  accepted  as 
absolute ;  they  stand  until  new  discoveries  overthrow 
them. 

Refutation.  —  Refutation  is  simply  a  special  applica- 
tion of  argument.  It  is  the  subjection  of  an  opponent's 
argument  to  destructive  analysis.  The  fundamental 
questions  in  refutation  are:  How  do  you  know? 
Granted  the  statement  is  true,  what  of  it  ?  Refutation 
denies  premises,  attacks  the  arguments  of  the  other  side 
as  fallacious,  questions  the  sufficiency  of  the  proof  as  a 
whole,  and  suggests  counter  propositions. 

EXERCISE. 

Determine  the  form  of  argumentation  used  in  the  following :  — 

Seest  thou  a  man  diligent  in  his  business  ?  He  shall 
stand  before  Kings.  —  Proverbs  xxii,  29. 

Therefore  whosoever  heareth  these  sayings  of  mine,  and 
doeth  them,  I  will  liken  him  unto  a  wise  man,  which  built 
his  house  upon  a  rock : 


214  ARGUMENTATION. 

And  the  rain  descended,  and  the  floods  came,  and  the 
winds  blew,  and  beat  upon  that  house ;  and  it  fell  not :  for 
it  was  founded  upon  a  rock.  —  St.  Matthew  vii,  24,  25. 

Some  circumstantial  evidence  is  very  strong,  as  when  you 
find  a  trout  in  the  milk.  —  Emerson  :  Thoreau. 

If  the  line  AB  is  not  equal  to  the  line  CD,  it  must  be 
longer  or  it  must  be  shorter.  We  have  proved  that  it  is  not 
longer — we  have  also  proved  that  it  is  not  shorter;  con- 
sequently it  must  be  equal  to  CD. 

If  thou  hast  run  with  the  footmen,  and  they  have  wearied 
thee,  then  how  canst  thou  contend  with  horses  ? 

—  Jeremiah  xii,  5. 

I  consider  a  human  soul  without  education  like  marble  in 
the  quarry,  which  shows  none  of  its  inherent  beauties  until 
the  skill  of  the  polisher  fetches  out  the  colors,  makes  the 
surface  shine,  and  discovers  every  ornamental  cloud,  spot, 
and  vein  that  runs  through  the  body  of  it.  —Addison. 

But  was  Cleopatra  at  Rome  at  all  ?  The  only  real  evi- 
dence for  her  presence  there  is  to  be  found  in  a  few  words 
of  Cicero:  " Reginse  f uga  mihi  non  molesta."  —  "I  am  not 
sorry  to  hear  of  the  flight  of  the  queen."  There  is  nothing 
to  show  that  the  "  queen  "  was  the  Egyptian  queen.  Grant- 
ing that  the  word  Egyptian  is  to  be  understood,  Cicero  may 
have  referred  to  Arsinoe,  who  was  called  Queen  as  well  as 
her  sister,  and  had  been  sent  to  Rome  to  be  shown  at 
Csesar's  triumph.  —  Froude  :  Life  of  Ccesar. 

Robert  Toombs'  boastful  statement  that  he  would  call 
the  roll  of  his  slaves  under  the  shadow  of  Bunker  Hill 
Monument,  proved  that  he  did  not  at  all  understand  the 
spirit  of  the  North. 


EXERCISES.  215 

Brutus  is  wise,  and  were  he  not  in  health 
He  would  embrace  the  means  to  come  by  it. 

—  Julius  Caesar,  Act  n,  Scene  1. 

When  spring  comes,  there  will  be  flowers  in  the  woods. 

The  Lord  is  my  shepherd;  I  shall  not  want — Psalm  xxiii,  1. 

Tullia  bids  me  wait  till  I  see  how  things  go  in  Spain,  and 
she  says  you  are  of  the  same  opinion.  The  advice  would 
be  good,  if  I  could  adapt  my  conduct  to  the  issue  of  events 
there.  But  one  of  three  alternatives  must  happen.  Either 
Csesar  will  be  driven  back,  which  would  please  me  best,  or 
the  war  will  be  protracted,  or  he  will  be  completely  victo- 
rious. If  he  is  defeated,  Pompey  will  thank  me  little  for 
joining  him.  If  the  war  hangs  on,  how  long  am  I  to  wait? 
If  Caesar  concpiers,  it  is  thought  we  may  then  have  peace. 
Every  course  has  its  perils ;  but  I  should  surely  avoid  a 
course  which  is  both  ignominious  and  perilous. 

—  Cicero  :  Letters  to  Atticus. 

I  did  send 
To  you  for  gold  to  pay  my  legions 
Which  you  denied  me.     Was  that  done  like  Cassius  ? 
Should  I  have  answered  Caius  Cassius  so? 
When  Marcus  Brutus  grows  so  covetous, 
To  lock  such  rascal  counters  from  his  friends, 
Be  ready,  gods,  with  all  your  thunderbolts  ; 
Dash  him  to  pieces.         — Julius  Ccesar,  Act  iv,  Scene  3. 

Then  up  and  spake  an  old  sailor, 
Had  sailed  to  the  Spanish  Main, 

"  I  pray  thee,  put  into  yonder  port, 
For  I  fear  a  hurricane. 

"  Last  night  the  moon  had  a  golden  ring, 
And  to-night  no  moon  we  see." 

—  Longfellow:   Tlie  Wreck  of  the  Hesperus. 


216  ARGUMENTATION. 

Persuasion.  —  In  life  we  often  find  that  by  argument 
alone  we  cannot  induce  others  to  do  as  we  wish.  We 
find  that  arguments  must  be  reinforced  and  made 
acceptable  by  enlisting  the  feelings  or  arousing  the 
emotions  of  the  person  to  whom  they  are  addressed. 
This  combination  of  argument  and  appeal  we  call 
persuasion  ;  and  persuasion  contains  more  of  argument 
or  more  of  appeal,  according  to  the  character  of  both 
the  one  who  persuades  and  the  one  who  is  to  be 
persuaded. 

In  dealing  with  individuals,  it  is  essential  to  choose 
a  fitting  time,  to  cultivate  an  agreeable  manner,  and 
to  see  to  it  that  appeals  rest  upon  a  sound  basis  of  fact 
and  truth. 

In  dealing  with  an  audience,  it  is  essential  that  the 
speaker  and  his  hearers  shall  be  friendly.  In  a  certain 
sense  an  audience  is  a  unit,  a  great  individual.  If 
angry,  it  must  be  appeased  and  won  ;  if  sleepy,  awak- 
ened ;  if  stolid,  aroused  ;  if  bored,  amused  ;  if  atten- 
tive and  interested,  entertained  or  instructed  ;  and 
under  all  circumstances,  an  audience  should  be  treated 
with  deference  and  respect.  A  successful  speaker 
becomes  very  sensitive  to  the  mental  attitude  of  his 
audience. 

EXERCISE. 

The  speech  of  Antony  in  the  play  of  Julius  Caesar,  Act  in, 
Scene  2,  is  a  wonderful  example  of  the  art  of  persuasion.  Study 
it  carefully  so  as  to  answer  the  following  questions  :  — 

Is  Antony's  audience  at  first  friendly  ?  How  does  he  try 
to  win  his  hearers  ?  What  three  arguments  does  he  use  to 
prove  that  Csesar  was  not  ambitious  ?  What  kind  of  argu- 
ments are  they  ?     Do  you  consider  them  conclusive  ?     Do 


PERSUASION.  217 

you  consider  that  they  show  a  strong  probability  ?  To 
what  feeling  does  Antony  afterward  appeal?  At  what 
point  in  the  speech  does  he  win  his  audience  ?  How  does 
he  appeal  to  the  self-interest  of  his  hearers  ?  How  does  he 
rouse  their  determination  to  hear  the  will  ?  At  what  point 
does  Antony  dare  to  come  out  against  the  murderers  ? 
When  does  he  flatter  his  hearers  ?  What  is  the  value  of 
his  reference  to  the  Nervii  ?  What  emotions  does  he  excite 
by  his  speech  beginning,  "  If  you  have  tears,"  etc.  ?  What 
result  does  he  finally  attain  ?  Was  Antony  seeking  that  end 
from  the  first  ?  How  does  the  last  paragraph  urge  the  mob 
to  mutiny  and  rage  ? 

Analyze  in  a  similar  way  the  following  speeches  :  — 

An  Appeal  to  Arms.  — Patrick  Henry. 
Rienzi's  Address  to  the  Romans.  — Mary  Russell  Mitford. 
Speech  of  Paul  before  Agrippa. —  Acts  xxv,  xxvi. 
First  Oration  of  Cicero  against  Catiline.     (This  is  denunci- 
ation, not  persuasion.) 
Speech  of  Brutus.  —  Julius  Caesar,  Act  in,  Scene  2. 

Give  persuasive  arguments  suitable  to  the  following  cases  :  — 

To  induce  your  father  to  send  you  to  college. 

To  induce  your  father  to  permit  you  to  go  to  work 
instead  of  going  to  college. 

That  the  senior  class  should  buy  the  high  school  a 
remembrance. 

That  James  Patterson  should  be  elected  president  of  the 
class. 

That  your  class  should  have  a  picnic  in  the  woods. 

That  the  scholars  should  give  something,  however  small, 
to  the  poor  on  Thanksgiving  Day. 

That  every  one  should  bring  flowers  for  use  on  Decora- 
tion Day. 


218  ARGUMENTATION. 

Argumentative  Oration.  —  The  chief  literary  form  of 
argument  is  the  argumentative  oration.  Examples  of 
this  form  are  abundant  in  the  writings  of  the  ancients, 
as  well  as  in  the  writings  of  later  times.  Demosthenes, 
Cicero,  Burke,  Patrick  Henry,  Webster,  and  Lincoln  are 
well  known  as  authors  of  famous  argumentative  orations. 
Excellent  examples  may  be  found  in  current  Congres- 
sional proceedings.  A  practical  way  of  learning  to 
compose  an  argumentative  oration  is  to  study  carefully 
some  good  example  and  afterward  use  it  as  a  model. 

EXERCISE. 

Write  speeches  as  indicated  below :  — 

A  speech  that  Oliver  Cromwell  might  have  made  in 
Parliament,  favoring  the  execution  of  Charles  I. 

A  philippic,  denouncing  the  course  of  Benedict  Arnold. 

A  speech  that  Benjamin  Franklin  might  have  made  in 
the  Continental  Congress,  on  the  wisdom  of  accepting  the 
peace  proposition  of  Edmund  Burke. 

A  speech  made  by  an  Englishman,  urging  the  necessity 
of  conquering  Napoleon  Bonaparte. 

A  speech  that  might  be  made,  asking  Congress  to  appro- 
priate a  sum  of  money  for  erecting  a  monument  to  the 
memory  of  Lincoln,  Hamilton,  or  some  other  statesman. 

The  speech  which  the  Cassius  of  Shakespeare's  Julius 
Ccesar  made  when  he  justified  the  act  of  the  conspirators. 


Debate.  —  The  form  of  argumentation  found  in  debate 
differs  in  one  important  particular  from  that  commonly 
used  in  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life.  In  ordinary  argu- 
ment only  two  persons  are  concerned,  —  the  one  who 
presents  the  arguments  and  the  one  to  whom  they  are 
presented.     Generally  these  two  persons  are  represented 


DEBATE.  219 

by  the  speaker  and  his  audience,  or  by  the  writer  and 
his  reader.  The  speaker,  that  is,  the  one  who  presents 
the  arguments,  does  his  best  to  make  his  hearer  or 
hearers  believe  as  he  believes ;  whatever  objections 
there  may  be  to  his  opinions  are  either  expressed  by  an 
individual  hearer  or  remain  as  a  resisting  influence  in 
the  minds  of  the  audience. 

In  a  debate,  however,  there  are  concerned  not  only 
the  speaker  and  the  audience  as  before,  but  in  addition 
the  speaker's  opponent,  —  one  who  expresses  all  the 
objections  that  might  exist  in  the  minds  of  the  hearers. 
In  a  debate  the  objections  to  the  speaker's  view  no 
longer  lie  more  or  less  passively  in  the  minds  of  the 
audience,  but  are  brought  forward,  expressed  and 
emphasized  by  one  whose  aim  is  to  prevent  the  audi- 
ence from  reaching  the  conclusion  which  the  speaker 
desires.  There  are,  then,  as  participants  in  a  debate, 
the  speaker,  his  opponent,  and  the  audience.  The 
speaker  represents  the  affirmative  side  of  the  question, 
his  opponent  the  negative  side,  and  in  school  debates 
the  audience  is  represented  by  selected  persons,  called 
judges,  who  decide  upon  the  merits  of  the  argument 
presented  by  each  side. 

School  Debate.  —  It  is  evident  that  appeals  to  feeling 
and  emotion  which  are  so  powerful  in  real  life  are 
almost,  if  not  entirely,  ruled  out  of  a  school  debate. 
The  chief  value  of  debate  as  a  school  exercise  is  the 
opportunity  that  it  gives  to  each  speaker  to  determine 
the  value  of  his  arguments.  It  leads  to  clear  thinking, 
to  direct  expression,  and  tends  to  develop  ease  and 
self-possession  before  an  audience. 


220  ARGUMENTATION. 

How  to  prepare  for  a  School  Debate.  —  In  school  debates, 
according  to  present  usage  the  debaters  are  divided  into 
two  teams  of  three  speakers  each.  These  are  designated 
the  first,  the  second,  and  the  third  speaker  for  each 
side  ;  the  first  is  usually  called  the  leader.  The  order 
of  debate  is  as  follows  :  — 

I.    Leader  on  the  affirmative  side. 
II.    Leader  on  the  negative  side. 

III.  First  affirmative  colleague. 

IV.  First  negative  colleague. 

V.    Second  affirmative  colleague. 
VI.    Second  negative  colleague. 
VII.    Leader  of  the  negative  in  rebuttal. 
VIII.    Leader  of  the  affirmative  in  rebuttal,  who  also 

closes  the  debate. 
In  many  schools  it  is  now  customary  to  allow  each 
speaker  to  reply  in  rebuttal,  in  order  that  each  member 
of  the  team  may  have  practice  in  extempore  speaking. 
The  length  of  time  given  to  each  speaker  is  a  matter 
of  mutual  agreement.  The  members  of  each  team  work 
together  and  support  one  another. 

The  question  for  debate  should  be  carefully  scru- 
tinized by  both  sides,  and  its  scope  and  its  meaning 
understood  by  each  side  in  exactly  the  same  way.  The 
meaning  of  every  word  it  contains  should  be  definitely 
settled.  The  best  and  simplest  form  of  a  question  is 
the  affirmative  form. 

After  the  question  for  debate  has  been  satisfactorily 
stated  each  team  should  begin  to  work  for  itself. 

Plan  of  Study.  —  An  efficient  method  of  preparation 
for  the  debate  is,  at  first,  for  each  team  to  meet  and 


A   SCHOOL  DEBATE.  221 

apportion  the  strong  points  of  its  case  among  its 
speakers ;  in  this  way  each  member  of  a  team  will  have 
a  definite  theme  about  which  to  obtain  information. 

After  the  separate  preparation,  each  team  should 
meet.  All  the  points  should  be  brought  together, 
arranged  and  rearranged  until  they  form  a  body  of 
argument,  and  at  this  stage  the  arguments  should 
be  tabulated.  In  this  way  each  member  of  the  team 
will  clearly  understand  the  value  of  the  line  of 
thought  which  he  is  to  support ;  at  the  same  time 
all  the  material  bearing  upon  his  theme  that  the 
others  have  gathered  will  be  made  over  to  him. 
Each  member  now  works  for  a  time  alone. 

Finally,  each  team  should  again  meet  so  that  the 
members  may  discuss  the  result  of  their  labors,  may 
criticise  and  strengthen  eacli  other's  work,  and  make 
sure  that  the  entire  body  of  argument  is  orderly, 
coherent,  strong,  and  well  presented. 

Each  team  should  thoroughly  understand  the  strong 
points  of  the  other  side,  and  should  prepare  arguments 
in  rebuttal,  so  as  to  be  ready  when  occasion  offers.  The 
entire  argument  should  not  only  be  tabulated,  but  each 
member  should  write  out  his  argument  at  length. 

Division  of  Labor  among  the  Speakers.  —  The  division  of 
labor  among  the  three  speakers  is  fairly  well  established 
by  custom.  The  leader  of  the  affirmative  introduces 
the  question,  defines  the  issues,  states  the  affirmative 
position,  and  may  go  on  to  the  support  of  the  main 
proposition.  This  speaker  should  be  winning  in  manner, 
fair  in  statement,  clear  in  presentation,  and  all  that  he 
says  should  be  readily  understood  by  the  audience. 


222  ARGUMENTATION. 

The  leader  of  the  negative  has  much  the  same  office 
as  the  leader  of  the  affirmative,  but  he  has  something  to 
attack.  Yet  inasmuch  as  he  also  has  a  case  which  is  to 
be  supported  as  a  whole  against  the  affirmative,  his 
better  course  is  to  state  his  case  clearly  and  completely 
at  first,  and  answer  as  much  or  as  little  as  seems  wise. 
If  he  has  a  proposition  to  support,  he  may  wisely  defer 
rebuttal  arguments  to  a  later  time.  The  second  speaker 
on  each  side  carries  on  the  argument  and  elaborates  it. 
In  practice  it  seems  best  for  youthful  debaters  to  support 
their  own  lines  of  argument  with  but  little  diversion 
by  way  of  answering  the  arguments  of  the  opposition. 
The  third  speakers  should  present  the  final  points, 
and  should  show  that  these  final  points  clinch  the  argu- 
ment. Immediately  following  the  last  negative  speaker, 
the  leader  of  the  negative  makes  the  final  speech  on  his 
side.  Here  is  the  place  for  arguments  in  rebuttal,  here 
is  the  place  for  extempore  speaking,  here  is  an  oppor- 
tunity to  show  readiness,  power,  adaptability. 

The  leader  of  the  affirmative  is  the  last  speaker.  He 
may  summarize  the  arguments  of  the  affirmative,  may 
refute  those  of  the  negative,  may  definitely  state  what 
has  been  proved.  He,  too,  like  the  leader  of  the  nega- 
tive, should  be  alert,  ready,  quick  to  take  advantage  of 
errors  of  the  other  side  ;  and  it  is  his  duty  to  bring  the 
debate  to  an  end.  From  the  nature  of  the  case,  the 
closing  speeches  must  be  more  or  less  extempore. 

The  nature  of  most  really  debatable  questions  is  such 
that  there  are  valid  arguments  in  favor  of  each  of  the 
two  sides.  Each  side  has  its  strong  and  its  weak  places, 
and  the  good  debater,  like  a  good  general,  will  know 
not  only  the  strength  and  weakness  of  his  own  line,  but 


TABULATION  FOR   A    SCHOOL   DEBATE.  223 

also  the  strong  and   the  weak  places  in  the  line  of  the 
enemy. 

One  essential  truth  must  never  be  forgotten,  no  mat- 
ter what  the  subject  may  be,  —  that  no  one  can  argue 
well  for  the  affirmative  who  does  not  know  the  nega- 
tive ;  and  no  one  can  sustain  the  negative  effectively 
who  does  not  thoroughly  understand  the  affirmative. 

Tabulation  for  a  School  Debate. 

Introduction. 

I.    State  the  proposition  in  full. 

a.  Define  its  terms. 

b.  Give  its  origin. 

c.  Limit  its  scope. 

II.    State  the  facts  admitted  by  both  sides. 
III.    State  clearly  the  special  issue  of  the  question ;  that 
is,  the  essential  idea  or  group  of  ideas  involved. 

Body  of  Argument. 

IV.    Arrange  material  in  support  of  side. 

a.  Main  arguments. 

b.  Supporting     arguments.       These     arranged     in 

climax  when  possible. 
V.    Arrange  rebuttal  arguments  to  meet  the  arguments 
of  the  other  side. 

Conclusion. 

VI.    Summarize   all  the  arguments,  to   show  how  they 
lead  to  a  decision  for  the  side  presenting  them. 

The  Judge  and  the  Critic.  —  A  debate  which  has  been 
carefully  prepared  should  be  presented  before  a  judge 
and  a  critic.  It  is  not  well  that  one  person  should 
combine  the  two  offices.  The  judge  should  consider 
the   arguments   and    decide  for  that  team  which   has 


224  ARGUMENTATION. 

presented  the  strongest  and  best-arranged  body  of 
reasoning.  His  decisions  should  be  based  upon  the 
arguments  actually  presented  by  the  debaters. 

The  critic,  on  the  other  hand,  should  consider  the 
quality  of  English  used,  the  distinctness  of  articulation, 
the  bearing  of  the  speakers,  the  minor  details  of  stand- 
ing and  moving.  He  should  place  before  all  the  par- 
ticipants the  standard  of  courteous,  polished  manners, 
correct  and  elegant  English. 

Questions  suitable  for  Debate.  —  The  questions  best 
adapted  for  school  debates  are  questions  of  policy 
rather  than  questions  of  fact.  In  cities  there  are 
usually  municipal  questions  upon  which  the  citizens  are 
divided  in  opinion.  The  two  great  parties  of  the  coun- 
try differ  about  questions  of  national  importance.  It 
is  these  living  questions  which  make  the  best  subjects 
for  debate. 

As  a  rule,  questions  of  fact  are  too  difficult.  That  Alci- 
biades  was  responsible  for  the  mutilation  of  the  statues 
of  Hermes ;  that  Julius  Ceesar  desired  the  crown ;  that 
the  Northmen  discovered  America  before  Columbus, 
are  all  questions  of  fact  which  cannot  be  settled  abso- 
lutely, because  the  evidence  is  insufficient  ;  but  they 
can  be  argued  indefinitely.  The  preparation  essential 
in  order  to  speak  intelligently  upon  such  questions  is 
obviously  beyond  the  reach  of  pupils  of  the  secondary 
schools. 

The  following  are  Mr.  Gladstone's  Rules  for  a 
Speaker's  Training  :  — 

Study  plainness  of  language,  always  preferring  the 
simpler  word. 


QUESTIONS   SUITABLE  FOR   DEBATE.  225 

Use  short  sentences,  rather  than  long  ones. 

Be  careful  to  speak  distinctly. 

Test  your  arguments  beforehand,  not  waiting  for 
critic  or  opponent. 

Seek  a  thorough  familiarity  with  your  subject,  and 
rely  upon  this  to  prompt  the  proper  words. 

Remember,  in  order  to  sway  an  audience,  you  must 
watch  it. 

EXERCISE.  -  SUBJECTS  FOR  ARGUMENTATION. 

Resolved  :  — 

That  immigration  should  be  restricted. 

That  the  practice  of  tipping  should  be  discountenanced. 

That  intemperance  is  one  of  the  chief  causes  of  poverty. 

That  Arctic  expeditious  should  be  discouraged. 

That  a  college  education  is  an  advantage  in  a  business 

career. 
That  a  city  should  own  and  operate  its  street  railways. 
That  foot-ball   should    be  retained  in  high    schools  and 

colleges. 
That  automobile  races  are  barbarous. 
That  a  third  term  of  office  for  the  President  of  the  United 

States  should  be  made  permissible. 
That  in  cities,  subways  are  preferable  to  elevated  railways. 
That    for    general    culture    the    classical    education    is 

preferable  to  the  scientific  education. 
That  senators  should  be  elected  by  the  direct  vote  of  the 

people. 
That  the  honor  system  in  examinations  is  advisable. 
That   gymnasium   work  should  be  made  compulsory  in 

school. 
That  high  school  athletics  should  be  under  the  manage- 
ment of  the  faculty. 


22G  ARGUMENTATION. 

That  high  school  athletics  should  be  under  the  manage- 
ment of  the  pupils. 

That  high  school  secret  societies  should  be  abolished. 

That  grade  crossings  should  not  be  permitted. 

That  military  tactics  should  be  taught  in  the  public 
schools. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

VOLUNTAKY  BEADING. 

Two  unmistakable  evidences  of  cultivation  are  the 
grace  with  which  a  person  expresses  himself  and  the 
good  judgment  he  uses  in  the  selection  of  his  reading. 
Many  a  conscientious  student  reads  good  books  from  a 
sense  of  duty,  but  it  is  only  when  he  really  enjoys  them 
that  they  can  do  him  lasting  service.  The  capacity  to 
admire  the  best  in  any  art  is  the  first  step  toward 
developing  undiscovered  powers  ;  likewise,  the  ability 
to  appreciate  classic  authors  represents  a  significant 
acquirement  in  a  person's  education.  Under  the  guid- 
ance of  an  inspiring  teacher  such  appreciation  is  easy. 
The  real  evidence  that  a  pupil  has  made  some  advance- 
ment in  the  cultivation  of  good  taste  is  this  :  that  when 
left  to  himself,  he  will  voluntarily  select  reading  that 
is  worth  while. 

Reading  lists  prepared  for  young  people  often  seem 
to  them  unattractive,  because  so  many  of  the  books  sug- 
gested are  chosen  from  the  works  of  authors  who  have 
long  been  dead  ;  modern  writers,  perhaps,  may  appeal 
to  them  more  directly.  It  is  nevertheless  true  that  the 
reputation  of  classic  authors  has  withstood  the  test  of 
time,  whereas  many  of  the  popular  books  of  to-day  will 
to-morrow  be  forgotten.  It  is,  then,  a  short-sighted 
literary   economy  which  confines  itself  to   securing  a 

227 


228  VOLUNTARY  READING. 

knowledge  only  of  authors  whose  influence  and  fame 
are  undetermined,  instead  of  becoming  acquainted  with 
recognized  masters  in  literary  art. 

For  the  student  of  English,  outside  reading  can  do 
far  more  than  the  best  of  class-room  teachers  ;  it  is 
therefore  of  supreme  importance  that  he  use  care  in 
selecting  every  book  that  lie  reads.  Circumstances 
often  force  him  to  converse  with  people  knowing  less 
about  the  English  language  than  he  knows  himself. 
Hence  it  is  all  the  more  necessary  that  he  improve  every 
opportunity  for  cultivating  the  acquaintance  of  masters 
in  the  art  of  English  expression.  The  training  which 
they  themselves  received  was  in  great  part  not  from 
the  schools  ;  some  of  them  were  accounted  idle  fellows 
in  the  recitation  room,  and  out  of  school  spent  their 
hours  reading  the  poets  instead  of  studying  lessons. 
The  testimony  of  many  an  author  calls  attention  to  the 
fact  that  the  knowledge  and  practice  of  the  rhetorician's 
rules  do  not  lead  to  a  mastery  of  the  art  of  expres- 
sion. To  gain  command  of  the  resources  of  the  lan- 
guage, one  must  be  directed  and  inspired  from  the  outset 
by  the  great  poets   and  the   classic  writers  of  prose. 

To  assist  the  student  in  his  choice  of  books  for  out- 
side reading,  the  list  accompanying  this  chapter  has  been 
prepared.  It  would  be  a  grave  error  for  any  one  to 
suppose  that  all  wise  persons  necessarily  like  the  same 
books.  Diversity  in  literary  taste  is  marked  among 
professors  of  literature.  Nevertheless,  we  may  agree 
upon  certain  broad  and  general  principles  which  enable 
us  to  distinguish  a  good  book  from  one  that  is  worth- 
less, and  among  good  books  to  appreciate  distinctions 
in  merit. 


VALUE  OF  THE  BEST  BOOKS.  229 

With  a  view  toward  discriminating  among  pupils  of 
varying  ages  and  abilities,  the  list  submitted  has  been 
graded  in  accordance  with  the  four  years  of  the  ordi- 
nary high  school  course.  Moreover,  the  division  of 
literature  according  to  types  may  perhaps  remind  lovers 
of  fiction  that  good  stories  represent  only  a  small  pro- 
portion of  the  standard  reading  open  to  every  one.  It 
is  a  well-known  fact  that  a  careful  and  varied  selec- 
tion in  the  reading  of  "  the  best  that  has  been  said 
and  thought  in  the  world, "  has  been  the  means  of 
a  liberal  education  to  many  a  man  who  has  been  de- 
frauded of  school  training.  Not  only  profit,  but  pleas- 
ure, awaits  the  reader  who  has  once  been  aroused  to 
cultivate  the  friendship  of  books. 

In  speaking  of  the  best  books  and  their  value  to  the 
world,  John  Ruskin  says  :  — 

Books  of  this  kind  have  been  written  in  all  ages  by  their 
greatest  men  ;  by  great  leaders,  great  statesmen,  and  great 
thinkers.  These  are  all  at  your  choice  and  life  is  short. 
You  have  heard  as  much  before ;  yet  have  you  measured 
and  mapped  out  this  short  life  and  its  possibilities  ?  Do 
you  know,  if  you  read  this,  that  you  cannot  read  that, 
—  that  what  you  lose  to-day  you  cannot  gain  to-morrow  ? 
Will  you  go  and  gossip  with  your  house-maid,  or  your  stable- 
boy,  when  you  may  talk  with  queens  and  kings  ;  or  flatter 
yourselves  that  it  is  with  any  worthy  consciousness  of  your 
own  claims  to  respect  that  you  jostle  with  the  common 
crowd  for  entree  here,  and  an  audience  there,  when  all  the 
while  this  eternal  court  is  open  to  you,  with  its  society 
wide  as  the  world,  multitudinous  as  its  days,  the  chosen, 
and  the  mighty,  of  every  place  and  time  ?  Into  that  you 
may   enter  always;  in  that  you  may  take  fellowship   and 


230  VOLUNTARY  READING. 

rank  according  to  your  wish ;  from  that,  once  entered  into 
it,  you  can  never  be  outcast  but  by  your  own  fault;  by 
your  aristocracy  of  companionship  there,  your  own  inherent 
aristocracy  will  be  assuredly  tested. 


M 
4 
w 

h 

K 

B 

o 

Divine     Comedy,     Books 
xxii,       xxiv,       Cary's 

Paradise  Lost,  Books  i,  n, 
Milton. 

Lalla  Rookh,  Moore. 

Locksley  Hall,  Tennyson. 

How  they  brought  the 
Good  News  from  Ghent 
to  Aix,  Browning. 

Richard  III,  Shakespeare. 
Hamlet,  Shakespeare. 
The  Tempest,  Shakespea?'e. 
Much  Ado  about  Nothing, 

Shakespeare. 
Strafford,  Browning. 
Ulysses,  Phillips. 

Adouais,  Shelley. 

Intimations  of  Immortal- 
ity, Wordsworth . 

Ode  to  Duty,  Wordsworth. 

Recessional,  Kipling. 

Rabbi  Ben  Ezra,  Brown- 
ing. 

Songs  from  Pippa  Passi  s, 
Browning. 

Sonnets   from   the  Portu- 
guese, E.  Ii.  Browning. 

To  a  Skylark.  Shelley. 

Ode  lor  St.  Cecilia's  Day. 
Dryden. 

0 

The  Nonne  Preestes  Tale, 
Chaucer. 

Faerie  Queen,  Book  i, 
Spenser. 

Palamon  and  Arcite,  Dry- 
den. 

Enoch  Arden,  Tennyson. 

The  Princess,  Tennysoji. 

Tam  O'Shanter,  Burns. 

Pike  County  Ballads,  Hay. 

Midsummer  Night's 
Dream,  Shakespeare. 

Taming    of    the     Shrew, 
Shakespeare. 

King  Lear,  Shakespeare. 

Twelfth     Night,     Shake- 
speare. 

In  Memoriam,  Tennyson. 
Saul,  Browning. 
Each  and  All,  Emerson. 
The  Problem,  Emerson. 
Rugby  Chapel,  Arnold. 
The  Present  Crisis,  Lowell. 

Songs  of  Burns. 
Songs  of  Moore. 
Psalms  of  David. 
Palgrave's  Golden  Treas- 
ury. 
Van  Dyke's  Bird  Poems. 

z 

Old  English  Ballads,  Percy. 

Sohrab  and  Rustum,  Ar- 
nold. 

Idylls  of  the  King,  Tenny- 
son. 

Courtship  of  Miles  Stand- 
ish,  Longfellow. 

Hiawatha,  Longfellow. 

Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel, 
Scott. 

Five  Nations,  Kipling. 

As  You   Like    It,   Shake- 
speare. 
Henry  VIII,  Shakespeare. 
Harold,  Tennyson. 

The  Chamhered  Nautilus, 
Holmes. 

Deserted  Village,  Gold- 
smith. 

The  Traveller,  Goldsmith. 

Childe  Harold,  Byron. 

Pictures  from  Appledore, 
Lowell. 

Poems  you  Ought  to  Know, 

Peattie. 
Songs  by  modern  writers, 
hiley.    Field,     Steven- 
son. 

US 

«l 
K 

DQ 

a 

Iliad,   Books  i,   vi,   xxii, 

xxiv,  Bryant. 
Odyssey,  Books  v,  vi,  vii, 

and  vm,  Bryant. 
Sella,  Bryant. 
Lays    of    Ancient    Rome, 

Macuulay. 
Evangeline,  Longfellow. 
Tales  of  a  Wayside  Inn, 

Longfellow. 
Marmion,  Scott. 

King  John,  Shakespeare. 
William  Tell,  Schiller. 
(Bohn  Library,  Transla- 
tion.) 

Snow-Bound,   Whittier. 
The  Last  Walk  in  Autumn, 

Whittier. 
The  New  England  Spring — 

Biglow  Papers,  Loivell. 
The     Melancholy      Days, 

Bryant . 
Elegy,  Gray. 

Songs  found  in  Collections 
of  Poems  :  — 

Household  Book  of  Poetry, 
Dana. 

Library  of  Song,  Bryant. 

American  Anthology,  St/ id- 
man. 

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p.  233 


APPENDIX    A. 

OORKESPONDENCE. 


Under  this  title  are  included  business  letters,  letters  of 
friendship  and  courtesy,  official  letters,  and  notes  of  cere- 
mony relating  to  social  functions. 

There  are  certain  conventional  ways  of  beginning  and 
ending  a  letter  which  with  little  variation  are  univer- 
sally observed.     They  are  classified  as  follows :  — 

The  heading,  which  includes  the  address  of  the  writer  and 
the  date  when  the  letter  is  written. 

The  introduction,  which  gives  the  name  and  the  address 
of  the  correspondent,  together  with  the  salutation. 

The  conclusion,  which  contains  the  complimentary  close 
and  the  signature. 

Business  Letters. — In  business  letters  the  heading  should 
contain  the  address  of  the  writer  and  the  date  of  the  letter. 
These  are  placed  on  the  right,  at  the  top  of  the  page.  The 
address  should  be  full  enough  to  serve  for  a  letter  sent  in 
reply.  The  date  should  be  clearly  written  and  not  too 
much  abbreviated. 

The  introduction  should  contain  the  name  and  address  of 
the  correspondent.  The  salutation  generally  takes  one  of 
the  following  forms:  Dear  Sir,  Dear  Sirs,  or  Gentlemen. 
The  salutation  may  be  followed  by  a  colon,  a  comma,  or  a 
comma  and  a  dash.  When  a  business  note  passes  between 
familiar  acquaintances,  a  less  formal  tone  may  be  given  to 
the  salutation  by  repeating  the  name  of  the  person  addressed. 
The  business  form  of  salutation  for  a  woman,  married  or 
unmarried,  is  Dear  Madam.  Instead  of  this  the  name  may 
be  repeated.  When  two  or  more  women  are  addressed, 
Ladies  is  the  proper  salutation. 

235 


236  APPENDIX  A. 

The  complimentary  close  of  the  letter  takes  one  of  the 
following  forms  :  Yours  truly,  Yours  very  truly,  Very  truly 
yours.  The  signature  should  be  the  full  name  of  the  writer, 
or  a  formal  abbreviation,  and  should  not  be  accompanied  by 
a  title,  unless  the  title  is  to  be  used  in  the  return  address. 
A  woman  signs  her  own  name,  indicating  in  parenthesis  how 
she  would  have  a  reply  addressed.     For  example  :  — 

(Miss)  Mary  L.  Livingston. 

Jane  H.  Winfield. 
(Mrs.  H.  A.  Winfield.) 

A  woman  signs  with  her  Christian  name  or  initials  ;  never 
with  the  title  merely,  as  Miss  Edwards,  Mrs.  Winfield. 

The  address  on  the  envelope  should  be  the  same  as  the 
superscription  inside,  except  that  the  name  of  the  state  is 
placed  below  the  name  of  the  city  or  county,  —  not  on  the 
same  line.  Each  line  should  begin  farther  to  the  right  than 
the  one  above.  Periods  are  used  after  all  abbreviations,  but 
other  marks  of  punctuation  may  or  may  not  be  used. 

Business  letters  should  be  written  on  one  side  of  the 
paper  only ;  it  is  a  good  plan  to  keep  a  copy  of  each  letter. 

The  following  examples  illustrate  the  form  of  business 
letters :  — 

62  Main,  tf&u&et,    CCtcxxM,  Jit. 

3>ott&v-lll&,  <Pa>. 
jb&cuv  oflv  : 

(Body  of  the  Letter.) 

1}eAAi  tAAlUf  UfrUAAs, 


CORRESPONDENCE.  237 

$6  lA^vnt&v  oftv&et,  fSaato-fv. 

j<xnu,aA/u  8,  ItfOS. 
TTIula,  flf&l&M,  7H.  faknoto-n, 

Jb&a,v  fTlacCwn,  : 

(Body  of  the  Letter.) 

1}&%>U  tvUtU  UOUV3,, 

Letters  of  Friendship.  —  In  letters  of  friendship  and  cour- 
tesy, the  address  and  the  date,  though  commonly  written  at 
the  top,  are  often  put  at  the  end  of  the  letter,  on  the  left. 

The  introduction  contains  the  salutation  only,  which  de- 
pends upon  the  relationship  or  degree  of  intimacy  existing 
between  the  writer  and  the  one  addressed. 

The  complimentary  close  varies  to  suit  the  circumstances 
in  each  case.  Sincerely,  Cordially,  Affectionately,  are  com- 
monly used,  with  variations  prompted  by  the  writer's  feelings. 

Official  Letters.  —  In  official  correspondence  the  office  is 
addressed  rather  than  the  officer,  and  the  tone  of  the  letter 
as  well  as  the  salutation  and  complimentary  close  are 
extremely  formal.     For  example :  — 

&o-naAii-o?&'yi&vai  f.  &.  JSlat^on, 
lA^AoAvyiCftoro,  Jb.  &. 

<^Cv,  — c/  kav-&  tk&  kono-v  to  tvan&wvit  k&v&w-ttk 
tk&  v&jbovt  tcn>  w-kl&k  uau  kav-&  uitc^uw&cL  JvnA-tvyiy 
tkat  Ct  w-ill  6-&  o  ati&ta&tovy ,  <J  am 

U}ittavcL  &.  lA^atla&&. 


238  APPENDIX  A. 

Notes  of  Ceremony.  —  A  formal  invitation  is  always  ex- 
pressed in  the  third  person,  and  the  reply  should  correspond 
with  the  invitation  in  form  and  style.  Invitations  to  large 
affairs  are  usually  printed  from  engraved  plates.  The  fol- 
lowing example  is  given,  principally  to  show  the  correct 
form  :  — 

7yi\&.   fi-^rvuu   §>.  @.kui&kill 

'vta/we^tA'  tke,  fol&a&wt&  ot  , 

Ttlv&Qs  fCLn-cj,' V  '^o-yyuj^arvu  at  Lwvi&ktoyi 

on,  cfue&oUvy,  jlanwavy  tw-zl^tk, 

at,  kalt-joxx&t  on-e,  o'&lo&fc,. 

Bvat&na-kl  jCacla&, 

The  following  acceptance  and  regret  show  the  prescribed 
forms  of  reply  to  such  an  invitation  :  — 

TVliAA,  fCvvuf  a,&&&'fota-  w-itk  jfrL&a&wbe,  Tflva,.  @,ku,v®kiZl' o, 
Cnv-Cta-tton,  to  tune-k&or*  tov  £Fi4,EA,d,au>,  $a-n/u,OA,u  tw-zlltk, 
at  ka&l-j&aoZ  ow&  o' &lo$Jo. 

TyivosOs  fCisYicf  v&qv&tos  tkat  <^vMowis&taM,@,&&  foo&v-emt  k&\, 
a,s,s,t/Jsta,n^&  ot  ?V(%&.  &k'W\j2,kLll' V  vwoitatLon,  to  IwvieA- 
&on,  tov  cJ'ic&Q/d^iu,  QawwaAAi  t/w-elttk,  at  kaZl-fe-a&t  one, 
o'eZoofc,. 

Invitations  should  be  promptly  answered.  Custom  dic- 
tates this,  and  consideration  requires  it.  That  there  may  be 
no  mistake,  the  items  as  to  date  and  hour  of  the  invitation 
should  be  repeated  in  the  reply. 


APPENDIX   B. 

PUNCTUATION. 


The  period  is  used :  — 

To  mark  the  end  of  a  declarative  sentence. 
To  show  that  a  letter  or  a  combination  of  letters  is  not 
a  real  word,  but  an  abbreviation. 

The  colon  introduces  something  that  the  previous  sentence 
or  clause  has  definitely  prepared  for.  Thus  the  colon  may 
introduce :  — 

A  list,  an  example,  a  formal  quotation. 

It  may  be  used  after  the  salutation  of  a  letter. 

The  semicolon  has  the  following  uses  :  — 

To  separate  the  principal  clauses  in  a  compound  sen- 
tence, when  no  conjunction  is  used.  When  a  conjunc- 
tion is  used,  the  separation  is  usually  indicated  by  a 
comma. 

Let  no  man  dare,  when  I  am  dead,  to  charge  me  with  dishonor; 
let  no  man  attaint  my  memory  by  believing  that  I  could  have 
engaged  in  any  cause  but  that  of  my  country's  liberty  and  inde- 
pendence.—  Robert  Emmett. 

To  separate  clauses  when  the  parts  of  these  clauses  are 
separated  from  each  other  by  commas. 

The  more  they  multiply,  the  more  friends  you  will  have ;  the 
more  ardently  they  love  liberty,  the  more  perfect  will  be  their 
obedience.  —  Burke  :  Conciliation  with  the  Colonies. 

To  separate  clauses  in  a  series,  when  these  clauses  are 
long;    or  when  they  are  not  so  closely  related  in 
thought  as  to  be  separated  by  commas ;  or  when  it  is 
desired  to  make  each  clause  somewhat  emphatic. 
Lift  up  your  heads,  O  ye  gates;  even  lift  them  up,  ye  everlast- 
ing doors ;  and  the  King  of  Glory  shall  come  in.  —  Psalm  xxiv,  9. 

239 


240  APPENDIX   B. 

The  principal  office  of  the  comma  is  to  point  off  the  lesser 
divisions  of  a  sentence.     It  is  used  in  the  following  ways : 
To  separate  the  different  clauses  of  a  compound  sen- 
tence, when  there  is  not  sufficient  break  in  the  thought 
to  make  a  semicolon  necessary. 

A  light  paddle  dips  into  the  lake,  a  birch  canoe  glides  around 
the  point,  and  an  Indian  chief  has  passed. 

To  separate  a  dependent  clause  from  the  principal  clause 
in  a  complex  sentence,  when  it  precedes  the  principal 
clause.  When  the  dependent  clause  follows  the  prin- 
cipal, a  comma  is  usually  not  needed. 

If  we  were  base  enough  to  desire  it,  it  is  now  too  late  to  retire 
from  the  contest.  —  Patrick  Henry. 

To  separate  the  words  or  phrases  of  a  series.  When 
these  words  or  phrases  are  connected  by  conjunctions, 
no  commas  are  required.  When  only  the  last  two  are 
connected  by  a  conjunction,  a  comma  precedes  the  con- 
junction; upon  this  point,  however,  usage  is  not  uni- 
form. 

It  is  the  spirit  of  the  English  Constitution,  which,  infused 
through  the  mighty  mass,  pervades,  feeds,  unites,  invigorates, 
vivifies  every  part  of  the  empire,  even  down  to  the  minutest 
member.  —  Burke  :  Conciliation  with  the  Colonies. 

Scrooge  was  his  sole  executor,  his  sole  administrator,  his  sole 
assign,  his  sole  residuary  legatee,  his  sole  friend,  and  sole  mourner. 

—  Dickens  :  Christinas  Carol. 

To  mark  off  adverbs  and  adverbial  phrases  when  these 
are  at  the  beginning  of  a  sentence  or  are  not  closely 
connected  with  the  context. 

There  was,  as  usual,  a  crowd  of  folk  about  the  door,  but  none 
that  Rip  recollected.  —  Irving. 

Well,  honor  is  the  subject  of  my  story.  —  Shakespeare. 


PUNCTUATION.  241 

To  mark  off  words  or  phrases  in  direct  address,  or  in 
apposition. 

Cold  is  thy  brow,  my  son,  and  I  am  chill.  —  Willis. 

Lord  Ronald  brought  a  lily-white  doe, 

To  give  his  cousin,  Lady  Clare.  —  Tennyson. 

Sometimes  in  the  case  of  a  title,  or  a  name,  or  a  noun 
used  to  define  or  restrict,  the  connection  is  so  close 
that  the  comma  may  be  omitted. 

Thomson  the  poet  was  indolent. 

In  general  to  indicate  a  group  of  words,  whether  a  phrase 
or  a  clause,  which  is  so  important  that  the  mind  should 
regard  it  separately. 

To  separate  the  parts  of  the  address  and  date  of  a  letter. 

The  question  mark  is  placed  at  the  end  of  every  direct 
question.     It  is  not  used  with  indirect  questions. 

Why  do  you  neglect  your  duty  ? 

He  inquired,  why  you  neglected  your  duty. 

The  exclamation  point  is  used  after  exclamatory  words, 
phrases,  and  sentences. 

Ah  !  well-a-day  !  what  evil  looks 

Had  I  from  old  and  young !  —  Coleridge. 

When  an  exclamatory  sentence  begins  with  an  interjec- 
tion, it  is  usually  sufficient  to  place  a  comma  after  the  inter- 
jection and  to  reserve  the  exclamation  point  until  the  end  of 
the  sentence. 

IIo,  trumpets,  sound  a  war-note ! 

Ho,  lictors,  clear  the  way!  —  Macaulay. 

When  an  unimportant  interjection  begins  a  declarative 
sentence,  it  is  often  possible  to  omit  the  exclamation  point 
entirely. 

Oh,  I  did  not  understand  you. 


242  APPENDIX  B. 

The  dash  is  used  to  indicate  a  sudden  change  in  thought 
or  construction.  Two  dashes  often  have  the  general  effect 
of  parentheses. 

No  —  yes  —  I  scarcely  know  what  to  say. 

Two  motives  —  love  of  man  and  love  of  God  —  were  constant. 

The  apostrophe  is  used  to  indicate  the  omission  of  a  letter 
or  letters ;  in  forming  the  possessive  case ;  also  in  forming 
the  plurals  of  letters  and  figures. 

Doesn't.     Mary's  book.     Two  x's. 

For  quotation  marks,  double  inverted  commas  are  used  at 
the  beginning  and  double  apostrophes  at  the  end,  showing 
that  the  matter  enclosed  between  them  is  a  quotation. 
A  single  comma  and  apostrophe  used  in  this  way  indicate 
a  quotation  within  a  quotation. 

Then  said  Mr.  Greatheart :  "  We  need  not  be  so  afraid  of  this 
valley,  for  there  is  nothing  to  hurt  us,  unless  we  procure  it  our- 
selves." —  Bunyan. 

"  Oh !  that  flagon  —  that  wicked  flagon  !  "  thought  Rip ;  "  what 
excuse  shall  I  make  to  Dame  Van  Winkle?"  —  Irving. 

"  I  wonder,"  said  Mr.  Lorry,  "  that  he  keeps  that  reminder  of 
his  sufferings  about  him  !  "  —  Dickens. 

Plato  having  defined  man  to  be  a  twodegged  animal  without 
feathers,  he  (Diogenes)  plucked  a  cock,  and,  bringing  him  into 
the  school,  said:  "  Here  is  Plato's  man."  From  which,  there  was 
added  to  the  definition,  "  with  broad,  flat  nails." 

The  hyphen  is  placed  between  the  parts  of  some  compound 
words.  It  also  marks  the  division  of  a  word  at  the  end  of  a 
line.  Words  should  never  be  divided  except  between 
syllables. 


APPENDIX   C. 


PKAOTIOAL  STUDIES  IN  A  FEW  OP  THE  COLLEGE 
REQUIEEMENTS  IN  ENGLISH. 


The  Drama Julius  Coesar. 

The  Merchant  of  Venice. 

The  Idyll Garelh  and  Lynette. 

Elaine. 

The  Passing  of  Arthur. 

The  Pastoral    ....  Lycidas. 

The  Narrative  Poem.    TJie  Rime  of  the  Ancient  Mariner. 

The  Formal  Essay    .  Macaulay's  Addison. 

The  Informal  Essay  .  Addison's  The  Sir  Roger  de  Coverley 

Papers. 

The  Biography    .  .  .  Irving's  Life  of  Goldsmith. 

The  Novel Ivanhoe. 

These  studies  are  designed  for  use  in  the  class-room  after  the  books 
have  been  read  and  discussed  from  day  to  day.  The  purpose  of  the 
questions  is  to  enable  the  pupil  to  judge  of  each  book  as  a  whole,  with 
a  view  toward  appreciating  the  value  of  literary  workmanship. 

243 


244    •  APPENDIX  C. 

SHAKESPEAEE'S   JULIUS   C^SAR. 

Setting.  —  What  is  the  historical  basis  of  the  tragedy? 
Does  Shakespeare  depart  very  much  from  the  facts  of  his- 
tory ?  Compare  the  number  of  indoor  scenes  with  the  num- 
ber of  outdoor  scenes.  Would  the  tragedy  as  represented 
on  the  stage  require  elaborate  scenery  and  gorgeous  apparel  ? 
How  does  this  play  compare  with  The  Merchant  of  Venice  in 
variety  and  splendor  of  stage  setting  ?  What  features  of 
classic  Rome  do  the  scenes  call  to  mind  most  frequently  ? 
Which  scene  do  you  think  would  require  the  most  attention 
on  the  part  of  the  stage  manager  ? 

Plot.  —  State  the  plot  with  no  more  than  one  hundred 
words,  centering  it  around  the  character  of  Caesar ;  state  it 
again,  centering  the  incidents  around  the  character  of  Bru- 
tus; which  way  of  telling  the  story  seems  easier  ?  Why  is 
the  play  named  Julius  Ccesar  ?  Which  three  scenes  impress 
you  the  most  ?  With  what  incident  does  the  action  of  the 
play  begin?  What  incident  marks  the  beginning  of  the 
fall  of  the  conspirators  ?  What  scenes  are  sharply  con- 
trasted ?  How  does  the  play  prepare  our  minds  to  expect 
a  conspiracy  against  Caesar  ?  What  intimations  in  the  first 
half  lead  us  to  suspect  the  important  part  that  Antony  is  to 
play  after  the  death  of  Caesar  ?  Have  we  any  hint  before- 
hand of  the  skill  which  Antony  shows  later  in  his  great 
speech  of  Act  III,  Scene  2  ?  Does  the  author  prepare  our 
minds  for  the  defeat  of  the  conspirators  at  Philippi  ?  Why 
does  the  ghost  of  Caesar  appear  before  Brutus  rather  than 
before  Cassius  ?  Show  wherein  the  construction  of  the  plot 
makes  the  play  fulfil  the  requirements  of  a  tragedy.  Does 
the  play  contain  any  humor  ? 

Characters.  —  Into  what  important  groups  can  you  divide 
the  characters?     Name  the  leader  or  the  leaders  of  each 


STUDIES  IN  COLLEGE  REQUIREMENTS.  245 

group.  Which  characters  are  the  most  sharply  contrasted  ? 
What  reasons  influence  Brutus  to  join  the  conspiracy  ?  Try 
to  discover  the  leading  motive  of  Brutus ;  of  Cassius ;  of 
Csesar ;  of  Antony ;  of  Casca ;  of  Cicero ;  and  of  Portia. 
How  many  women  in  the  play  ?  '  What  effect  on  the  play 
is  produced  by  having  such  a  large  number  of  men  ?  Point 
out  the  various  ways  in  which  the  character  of  Caesar  is 
belittled.  Show  some  of  the  many  ways  in  which  the  char- 
acter of  Brutus  is  exalted.  What  was  Shakespeare's  opin- 
ion of  the  Koman  populace  ?  Wherein  do  they  differ  from 
a  crowd  of  American  citizens  ?  Does  this  play  teach  that 
"  the  good  man  who  is  blind  to  the  signs  of  the  time,  may 
go  down  in  death  to  no  purpose,  even  as  does  the  felon"? 
Or  does  it  show  that  there  is  glory  even  in  "  a  losing  day," 
provided  a  man  has  tried  to  do  his  duty  ? 

Form.  —  What  is  the  verse  of  the  tragedy  as  a  whole  ?  Find 
illustration  of  the  Alexandrine  line  in  Act  I,  Scene  2.  Do 
you  find  rhyme  used  very  often  ?  In  what  part  of  the  scenes 
does  it  occur?  Why  do  the  tribunes  in  Act  I,  Scene  1,  speak 
in  verse,  and  the  common  people  in  prose?  Find  other 
examples  of  prose,  and  see  if  you  can  discover  why,  in  each 
case,  it  is  used  in  place  of  verse. 

Literary  Aspect.  —  From  different  parts  of  the  play,  select 
three  passages  of  at  least  ten  lines  which  you  think  worth 
committiilg  to  memory  ;  study  carefully  the  figures  of  speech 
and  allusions  therein,  in  order  that  you  may  appreciate  the 
noble  dignity  of  the  passages.  Make  a  collection  of  ten  or 
twelve  isolated  lines  or  couplets  which  you  have  often  heard 
quoted ;  do  you  see  why  the  world  has  appropriated  each  ? 
What  gives  to  the  play  its  chief  point  of  interest,  —  setting, 
plot,  or  characters  ?  Which  part  is  more  interesting,  the 
first  half  of  the  play,  or  the  second  half  ?  What  use  is 
made  of  the  supernatural  ?     Does  it  heighten  the  interest  ? 


246  APPENDIX  C. 

To  a  modern  mind,  what  does  Caesar's  ghost  represent, 
when  it  pursues  the  soul  of  Brutus  ?  Is  the  catastrophe  of 
the  play  tragic  or  pathetic  ?  How  does  Julius  Ccesar  com- 
pare in  intensity  with  some  other  tragedy  of  Shakespeare 
that  you  have  read  ?  What  would  the  play  lose  if  it  were 
written  in  prose  ?  Examine  the  evidence  which  attempts 
to  fix  the  date  for  the  authorship  of  Julius  Ccesar.  Men- 
tion three  reasons  for  Shakespeare's  marvellous  influence 
over  the  minds  of  men. 

THEMES  FOR  ESSAYS. 

The  Supremacy  of  Brutus,  in  '  Julius  Caesar.' 

Brutus,  —  "  This  was  the  noblest  Eoman  of  them  all." 

Some  of  the  Mistakes  of  Brutus. 

Brutus,  as  he  was  regarded  by  the  Various  Characters  in  the  Play. 

Oassius  as  seen  through  Antony's  Eyes,  —  "  Old  Oassius  still." 

Two  Romans,  —  Oassius  and  Brutus. 

Antony,  —  "A  Shrewd  Contriver." 

Antony,  —  "A  Man  of  Quick  Spirit." 

Was  Osesar  Eight  in  his  Estimate  of  Oassius  ? 

Osesar  as  he  appears  to  the  Various  Characters  in  the  Play. 

An  Apology  for  Oassius. 

Portia  and  Calpurnia  as  Wives. 

The  Eoman  Citizens  in  the  Play. 

The  Boy  Lucius. 

SHAKESPEARE'S    THE  MERCHANT  OF   VENICE. 

Setting.  —  What  kind  of  background  for  the  play  does  the 
name  Venice  suggest?  What  aspect  of  Venice  does  the 
Rialto  call  to  mind  ?  What  phases  of  life  are  emphasized 
by  representing  so  many  of  the  scenes  on  the  street  ?  Make 
a  collection  of  geographical  terms  used  in  connection  with 
Antonio's   ships,   to  show  the  extent  of  his   moneyed   in- 


STUDIES  IN   COLLEGE   REQUIREMENTS.         247 

terests.  How  many  of  the  persons  in  this  play  are  known 
to  be  very  rich  ?  Does  the  fact  in  each  case  add  another 
suggestion  of  lavishness  and  splendor  ?  Which  scenes  are 
most  brilliant?  Which  scene  is  most  picturesque  and 
romantic  ?  Which  scene  would  be  devoid  of  ornament  ? 
Which  acts  would  require  most  speed  on  the  part  of  scene- 
shifters?  How  are  we  reminded  again  and  again  in  the 
opening  scene  that  Venice  is  a  sea-girt  city  ?  Make  a  col- 
lection of  phrases  from  the  play  illustrating  the  frequency 
with  which  the  sea  is  mentioned.  Indicate  scenes  that 
show  the  joyousness  and  gayety  of  life  in  Venice.  If  Shake- 
speare had  called  the  play  The  Merchant  of  Rome,  what  kind 
of  associations  would  it  call  up  in  your  mind  ?  What 
elements  of  beauty  would  it  part  with  ?  Can  you  think 
of  any  other  place  in  the  world  that  would  be  better  suited 
to  Shakespeare's  purpose  than  Venice  ? 

Plot.  —  Tell  the  main  plot  briefly  in  such  away  that  it 
will  seem  to  be  a  love-story ;  tell  it  again  so  that  it  will 
seem  to  be  a  hate-story.  Which  way  do  you  find  easier  ? 
What  character  unites  the  two  main  stories  ?  Why  is  The 
Merchant  of  Venice  a  good  title  ?  Which  is  more  marked  in 
the  play,  the  element  of  comedy  or  the  element  of  tragedy  ? 
Find  the  dramatic  climax  of  each  element.  How  does  the 
little  story  of  Jessica  and  Lorenzo  add  interest  to  the  main 
plot  ?  Of  what  particular  value  to  the  play  is  Act  V  ? 
State  approximately  the  interval  of  time  covered  by  the 
plot.  Think  of  a  title  for  each  of  the  five  acts,  regarding 
each  act  as  a  part  of  a  connected  whole.  Do  you  consider 
the  plot  simple  or  complex  ? 

Characters.  —  Separate  the  characters  into  three  groups  and 
state  your  principle  of  division  in  thus  classifying  them. 
Who  is  intellectually  the  most  able  character  in  the  play  ? 
Who  is  wittiest  ?    Most  helpful  to  others  ?    Most  cultivated  ? 


248  APPENDIX   C. 

Most  extravagant ?  Jolliest?  Most  active?  Most  passive? 
Most  treacherous  ?  Most  malicious  ?  Most  humorous  ? 
Who  has  the  least  amount  of  sense  ?  Which  two  parts 
call  for  the  best  acting  ?  Which  is  the  more  potent  cause 
for  Shylock's  hatred  of  Antonio,  wrongs  shown  to  his 
race  or  wrongs  shown  to  himself?  Which  feeling  for 
Shylock  has  Shakespeare  aroused  in  you,  pity  or  contempt  ? 
How  does  the  creation  of  Shylock  show  Shakespeare  at  his 
best  ?  Can  you  approve  of  Jessica's  actions  ?  Do  you  see 
reasons  for  judging  her  compassionately?  Of  the  two, 
which  do  you  like  better,  Antonio  or  Bassanio  ?  Which 
characters  seem  to  you  least  real  ?  Should  all  characters 
be  portrayed  with  equal  distinctness?  Why  should  the 
background  figures  in  a  picture  be  a  little  dim  ?  In  what 
respect  is  the  art  of  the  playwright  similar  to  the  art  of  the 
painter  ? 

Form.  —  Why  does  the  dramatist  write  the  greater  part  of 
his  play  in  blank  verse  ?  If  written  in  prose,  could  the  play 
have  the  same  dignity  ?  Examine  the  parts  expressed  in 
prose  and  see  if  you  can  discover  reasons  why  they  have  not 
been  cast  in  poetic  form.  Do  you  like  the  little  songs? 
Why  should  not  songs  be  cast  in  blank  verse?  Is  rhyme 
suitable  to  lyric  poetry  ? 

Great  Thoughts  Emphasized.  —  What  two  characters  give 
utterance  to  words  that  make  you  think  most,  when  you  are 
reading  this  play?  Where  do  you  find  the  most  eloquent 
expression  of  protest  against  race  prejudice?  Where  do 
you  find  the  most  forcible  appeal  for  magnanimity  in  deal- 
ing with  our  fellow-creatures  ?  Find  two  lines  in  Portia's 
plea  to  the  Jew,  which  show  what  proportion  of  mercy  should 
accompany  our  exercise  of  justice. 

Literary  Aspect.  —  Where,  in  your  judgment,  are  the 
most  exquisite  lines  of  poetry  in   this  play  ?     Select  the 


STUDIES  IN   COLLEGE   REQUIREMENTS.         249 

passage  that  seems  to  you  the  most  eloquent.  What  were 
your  reasons  for  selecting  these  parts  ?  Make  a  collection  of 
metaphors  chosen  from  Act  I,  Scene  1,  and  Act  II,  Scene  1 ; 
is  the  imagery  extravagant  ?  Does  it  accord  with  the  gen- 
eral lavishness  of  the  play  ?  Examine  carefully  Shylock's 
longest  speech  in  Act  III,  Scene  1 ;  what  rhetorical  devices 
are  used  which  add  to  the  speech  force,  emphasis,  and  life  ? 
What  scene  best  reveals  Portia's  lovely  womanliness  ?  What 
scene  shows  best  her  remarkable  tact?  What  is  the  key- 
note of  all  Shylock's  speeches  in  the  Trial  Scene  ?  What  is 
the  highest  spiritual  thought  that  Portia  utters  ?  Why  does 
Shakespeare  introduce,  in  the  fifth  act,  the  pretty  description 
of  the  moonlight  and  the  music  ?  What  are  the  chief  rea- 
sons that  make  The  Merchant  of  Venice  one  of  Shakespeare's 
most  popular  plays  ? 

THEMES  FOR  ESSAYS. 
Portia's  Suitors. 

Was  Shylock  treated  fairly  in  the  Trial  Scene  ? 
Portia's  Love  of  Fun. 

Tell  attractively  the  Story  of  Bassanio's  Choice. 
Tell  vividly  the  Story  of  the  Trial  Scene. 
The  Variety  and  Contrast  of  Characters  in   '  The  Merchant  of 

Venice.' 
Why  I  Like  '  The  Merchant  of  Venice.' 
A  Defence  of  Jessica. 
Was  Bassanio  a  Fortune-hunter  ? 
The  Prince  of  Morocco,  an  Elegant  Gentleman. 
Was  Antonio  a  Christian  Gentleman  ? 
A  Defence  of  Shylock. 
The  Three  Pairs  of  Lovers. 
Gratiano,  a  Jolly  Companion. 
Gohho's  Nonsense. 

The  Three  Young  Ladies  of  the  Drama. 
The  Three  Young  Gentlemen  of  the  Drama. 


250  APPENDIX  C. 

TENNYSON'S   IDYLLS   OF   THE  KING. 

I.     Gareth  and  Lynette. 

Setting.  —  Why  is  it  appropriate  that  the  events  of  this 
story  should  occur  about  Easter  time  ?  Transpose  the 
description  of  Camelot,  lines  179-193,  into  prose.  In  this 
description  notice  what  details  are  selected,  and  give  a 
reason  for  the  selection.  In  the  following  descriptions, 
state  reasons  for  the  order  which  the  poet  has  observed  in 
presenting  the  details :  (1)  a  near  view  of  Camelot,  lines 
296-309 ;  (2)  the  ball,  lines  396-110 ;  (3)  the  pavilion,  lines 
885-892.      Where  was  Camelot  ? 

Plot.  —  What  is  the  force  of  the  illustration  of  the  falling 
pine  at  the  beginning  of  the  idyll  ?  Of  the  figure  of  the 
golden  eggs,  lines  41-70?  Tell  the  story  of  Gareth's  father. 
What  were  Gareth's  reasons  for  wishing  to  be  at  Arthur's 
court  ?  State  Bellicent's  arguments  for  opposing  him. 
Which  had  stronger  arguments,  the  mother  or  the  son? 
On  what  condition  was  permission  granted  him  ?  Why  is 
the  bard  introduced  at  the  gateway  ?  What  does  the  inci- 
dent of  Gareth's  encounter  with  six  men  do  for  the  story  ? 
How  does  the  incident  at  the  nobleman's  house  affect  your 
ideas  of  the  characters  ?  Why  do  the  four  brothers  who 
are  defending  the  Castle  Perilous  call  their  plan  "a  fool's 
parable  "  and  "  an  allegory  "  ?  Do  you  feel  satisfied  with 
Gareth's  success  in  his  encounter  with  "  the  Sun  "  ?  Give 
reasons  for  your  answer.  At  what  point  do  Lynette's  feel- 
ings towards  Gareth  change  ?  Where  is  the  climax  of  the 
story  ?  Does  Gareth's  last  encounter  seem  to  you  a  weak 
ending  of  the  story  ? 

Characters.  —  Erom  hints  dropped  here  and  there,  what 
picture  has  been  formed  in  your  mind  of  Gareth's  personal 
appearance  ?      Do   you   see   any   reason  why,  in  Malory's 


STUDIES  IN  COLLEGE  REQUIREMENTS.         251 

legend,  Gareth  should  be  called  Beaumains  ?  Was  lie  a 
model  son  ?  Make  out  a  code  of  morals  such  as  you  think 
he  would  have  made  for  himself.  What  signs  of  daunt- 
less courage  does  he  show  before  he  enters  Camelot?  What 
thought  prevented  him  from  telling  the  King  a  falsehood  ? 
State  five  evidences  of  nobility  shown  even  while  he  was 
a  kitchen-boy.  Describe  Lynette's  appearance.  What  was 
the  nature  of  her  first  remark  to  Arthur?  Of  her  first 
remark  to  Gareth  ?  To  Lancelot?  Would  you  think  more 
of  Gareth  if  he  had  reproached  Lynette  ?  Give  reason  for 
your  answer.  What  made  Lynette  change  her  opinion  of 
Gareth?  Did  she  make  sufficient  amends  for  her  revilings? 
Contrast  the  various  principles  that  actuated  Arthur  in 
making  his  decisions  with  regard  to  the  first,  second,  and 
third  boons  asked  of  him.  Why  was  Gareth  sure  that 
Arthur  was  the  rightful  king  ? 

II.     Elaine. 

Setting.  —  Notice  the  time  and  places  indicated  at  the 
beginning  of  this  idyll.  Select  the  words  suggestive  of 
horror  in  the  description  of  Lyonnesse.  Read  carefully 
the  pretty  description  of  the  hermit's  home.  Why  was 
Arthur's  emblem  a  dragon  ?  Read,  in  connection  with  this 
story,  Tennyson's  Lady  of  Shalott, 

Plot.— What  is  the  incident  of  the  first  stanza  ?  Where 
is  it  mentioned  a  second  time  ?  What  story  is  narrated 
between  these  two  points  in  the  idyll  ?  Is  this  narrative 
essential  to  the  story  of  Lancelot  and  Elaine  ?  Could  it 
have  been  inserted  elsewhere  ?  What  bearing  on  the  story 
has  Elaine's  dream,  lines  210-217  ?  What  is  the  force  of 
alluding  to  the  "  wordless  man  "  in  lines  270-279  ?  Why 
was  Lancelot  assaulted  at  the  tournament  by  his  own  "  kith 
and  kin  "  ?     Why  does  Tennyson  make  Arthur  repeat  the 


252  APPENDIX  C. 

story  of  Lancelot's  disaster  to  Guinevere  ?  In  what  ways 
does  Guinevere  try  to  ensnare  the  fancy  of  Elaine  ?  What 
is  the  force  of  Elaine's  dream,  lines  1028-1041  ?  Why  does 
Tennyson  recount  in  quick  succession  Guinevere's  scornful 
treatment  of  Lancelot's  gift  and  the  silent  passing  of 
the  barge  ?  Why  does  the  poet  select  Sir  Percivale  and 
Sir  Galahad  to  bear  Elaine's  body  into  the  castle?  Was 
Lancelot's  defence  of  himself  sufficient  ?  Was  his  punish- 
ment severe  enough  ? 

Characters.  — What  is  the  first  suggestion  of  falseness  in 
Lancelot?  Why  is  he  called  the  "flower  of  bravery"? 
Wherein  is  his  conduct  toward  Guinevere  and  Elaine  blame- 
worthy ?  Why  was  Elaine  called  "  the  lily-maid  "?  What 
was  her  father's  opinion  of  her  ?  Explain  the  secret  of  her 
influence  over  her  father.  Show  the  difference  between  her 
emotion  and  that  of  Guinevere,  upon  hearing  of  Lancelot's 
disaster  at  the  tournament.  What  words  or  acts  on  the  part 
of  Elaine  might  expose  her  to  the  charge  of  boldness  ?  Can 
you  defend  her  against  such  a  charge  ?  What  impression 
did  her  character  make  upon  Lancelot  ?  What  were  Guine- 
vere's objections  to  Arthur  ?  What  figures  of  speech  did 
she  use  in  speaking  of  him  ?  What  was  Lancelot's  opinion 
of  him  ?  Did  Arthur  deal  wisely  with  Guinevere  ?  Why 
was  she  called  the  "  pearl  of  beauty  "  ?  How  did  she  wrong 
Arthur  ?  Did  she  wrong  Lancelot  ?  Was  her  punishment 
severe  enough  ?  Read  the  idyll  of  Guinevere.  How  was 
Gawain  related  to  Gareth  ?  Show  as  many  points  of 
difference  as  you  can  between  the  two  men. 

III.     The  Passing  of  Arthur. 

Setting.  —  When  and  where  do  the  events  of  this  idyll 
occur  ?  Where  was  Lyonnesse  ?  At  what  season  of  the 
year  does  the  Passing  of  Arthur  take  place  ?  Compare  the 
time  when  the  Coming  of  Arthur  occurs  with  that  of  his 


STUDIES  IN   COLLEGE  REQUIREMENTS.  253 

Passing.  In  the  description  of  "the  last  dim,  weird  battle 
of  the  West,"  what  features  carry  out  the  ideas  of  "  dim  " 
and  "  weird  "  ?  By  what  rhetorical  devices  has  the  poet 
added  force  and  life  to  the  narration  of  the  conflict  ?  What 
rhetorical  devices  produce  the  impression  of  quietness  after 
the  battle  ? 

Plot.  —  What  is  the  meaning  of  Arthur's  lament,  lines 
9-28  ?  What  is  the  force  of  Arthur's  dream,  lines  29-45  ? 
Did  Arthur  perform  an  "  act  of  knighthood  "  when  he  slew 
Modred  ?  Give  a  reason  for  your  ans  wer.  Where  did  Arthur 
get  Excalibur?    Outline  the  story  of  the  idyll. 

Characters.  —  Why  was  Arthur  "  like  a  shattered  column  " 
at  the  close  of  his  life  ?  In  the  idylls  that  you  have  studied, 
do  you  think  that  Arthur  has  been  portrayed  as  a  character 
too  nearly  perfect?  Give  references  to  illustrate  your 
answer.  What  virtue  does  Bedivere  symbolize  ?  Why  did 
Bedivere  twice  fail  to  cast  away  Excalibur  as  he  was  di- 
rected ?    What  motive  prompted  him  to  faithfulness  at  last  ? 

Central  Truth.  — -  Show  by  references  to  the  poem  whether 
Arthur  failed  in  his  purpose.     What  had  he  accomplished 
for  the  world  ?     What  brought  about  the  downfall  of  the 
Round  Table  ?     What  is  meant  by  the  words :  — 
But  now  the  whole  Round  Table  is  dissolved 
Which  was  an  image  of  the  mighty  world. 

If,  as  Tennyson  suggested,  Arthur  represents  the  soul,  how 
can  you  account  for  his  peculiar  passing  and  the  hope  that 
he  would  "  come  again "  ?  How  do  you  explain  the  three 
queens  that  bore  him  away  ?  Why  is  Bedivere  left  to 
survive  him  ? 

Literary  Aspect  of  the  Idylls.  —  State  three  reasons  why 
you  would  class  The  Idylls  of  the  King  as  an  epic  poem. 
What  is  the  meaning  of  the  word  "  idyll  "  ?  In  what  sense 
are  these  poems  idylls  ?     Select  from   each   of  the  poems 


254  APPENDIX  C. 

three  beautiful  descriptions,  three  figures  of  speech  appro- 
priately used,  and  five  poetic  epithets.  What  effect  does 
the  poet  gain  by  choosing  compound  adjectives  ?  Mention 
five  places  where  the  supernatural  is  used.  Does  it  ever 
intrude  unpleasantly  ?  From  the  three  idylls,  select  ten 
lines,  each  of  which  expresses  a  great  truth.  Make  a  choice 
from  each  idyll  of  five  impressive  words  that  the  poet 
reiterates.  Have  you  discovered  any  reasons  why  the  style 
of  the  idylls  is  so  smooth  and  musical?  How  has  the 
verse  selected  by  the  poet  added  dignity  to  his  thought  ? 
In  what  senses  is  Tennyson  an  artist  ?  Was  he  a  dreamer, 
or  a  man  among  men  ?  In  what  sense  is  he  a  great  poet  ? 
Why  did  the  legendary  King  Arthur  attract  his  fancy  ?  Do 
you  see  anything  "  mystic  "  and  "  wonderful "  about  The 
Idylls  of  the  King  ? 

THEMES  FROM  'THE  IDYLLS  OF  THE  KING.' 

Arthur,  —  was  he  a  Perfect  King  ? 

"  Elaine  the  Pair,  Elaine  the  Lovable." 

A  Picture  Gallery  from  '  The  Idylls  of  the  King.' 

The  Transformation  of  a  Kitchen  Boy. 

The  Story  of  Excalibur. 

King  Arthur's  Last  Conflict. 

"Why  did  Tennyson  write  '  The  Idylls  of  the  King  '  ? 

Compare  Tennyson  with  Some  Other  Poet  whom  you  have  learned 

to  like. 
A  Day  with  Tennyson  at  Farringford. 
Tennyson's  Friendly  Relations  with  Queen  Victoria.    [See  his 

early  dedication  of  his  Poems  to  the  Queen  ;  see,  also,  his  letters.] 

MILTON'S   LYCIDAS. 

General  Plan. — What  circumstances  led  to  the  composi- 
tion of  Lycidas  ?  Explain  the  appropriateness  of  the  title. 
Why  does  the  poet  apostrophize  the  Sicilian  muse  ?     Trace 


STUDIES   IN   COLLEGE  REQUMEMENTS.         255 

the  development  of  the  thought  throughout  the  poem, 
outlining  the  main  divisions  in  the  order  in  which  they  are 
presented.  Which  divisions  seem  to  have  little  connection 
with  the  subject  ?  What  led  the  author  to  introduce  these 
digressions  ?  Compare  the  introduction  (lines  1-23)  with 
the  conclusion  (lines  186-193) ;  explain  their  connection 
with  each  other.  To  whom  does  the  poet  refer  when  he 
uses  the  words  "  uncouth  swain  "  in  line  186  ? 

Form.  —  What  is  an  elegy  ?  Read  rapidly  Gray's  Elegy 
in  a  Country  Churchyard ;  how  does  Gray's  point  of  view 
differ  from  that  set  forth  in  Lycidas  ?  Compare  the  two 
poems  as  to  metrical  arrangement ;  do  you  see  any  special 
appropriateness  of  the  verse  used  in  each  case  ?  For  what 
kind  of  English  poetry  is  iambic  pentameter  generally 
reserved  ?  Why  would  the  measure  of  L' Allegro  or  II  Pen- 
seroso  be  unsuitable  to  Lycidas  f  Examine  the  rhymes  ;  do 
you  see  good  reason  for  placing  them  at  irregular  intervals  ? 
Read  all  of  Lycidas  aloud  thoughtfully,  to  test  its  musi- 
cal quality.  Does  it  read  smoothly  ?  Select  parts  of  the 
monody,  which,  like  Milton's  Philomel,  in  II  Penseroso,  are 
"most  musical,  most  melancholy." 

The  Allegory.  — Note  phrases  and  classical  allusions  that 
emphasize  the  pastoral  life.  Explain  the  symbolism  of  the 
following  quotations  :  — 

For  we  were  nursed  upon  the  self-same  hill, 
Fed  the  same  flock,  by  fountain,  shade,  and  rill. 

Alas !  what  boots  it  with  incessant  care 

To  tend  the  homely,  slighted,  shepherd's  trade 

And  strictly  meditate  the  thankless  muse  ? 

But  now  my  oat  proceeds, 

And  listens  to  the  Herald  of  the  Sea, 

That  came  in  Neptune's  plea. 


256  APPENDIX  C. 

Return,  Alpheus  ;  the  dread  voice  is  past 
That  shrank  thy  streams ;  return,  Sicilian  Muse, 
And  call  the  vales,  and  bid  them  hither  cast 
Their  bells  and  flowerets  of  a  thousand  hues. 

He  touched  the  tender  stops  of  various  quills, 
With  eager  thought  warbling  his  Doric  lay. 

Does  the  pastoral  element  with  classic  background  add  to 
the  grave  dignity  of  the  elegy  ?     What  four  majestic  beings 
descend  from  another  world  to  mingle  in  the  simple,  rustic 
scene?     Do  their  awe-inspiring  tones  make  the  mourning 
for  Lycidas  impressive,  or  would  the  poet  have  been  wiser 
had  he  omitted  mention  of  them  ?     Do  you  notice  any  con- 
fusion of  classic  and  Christian  conception  in  this  group  of 
mourners  ?     What  part  of  the  allegory  contains  bitter  invec- 
tive. ?     What  special  connection  does  it  have  with  the  sub- 
ject ?     What  do  you  think  is  the  tenderest  part  of  the  elegy  ? 
With  what  lofty  Christian  conception  does  the  poet  conclude 
his  monody  ?     What  character  in  Comus  corresponds  to  the 
"  Genius  of  the  shore,"  mentioned  in  line  183  ?     After  read- 
ing this  poem,  do  you  feel  acquainted  with  the  personality 
of  Edward  King  ?     Does  the  elegy  bespeak  deep  grief  for 
a  personal  loss,  or  does  it  reflect  only  a  kind  of  "tender 
gloom,"  with    which    all   nature   seems   to   be  shadowed  ? 
Does    this  poem    give  indication  of  the  Milton   who  later 
wrote  with  force  as  well  as  with  elegance  ?     What  seems  to 
you  to  be  the  chief  point  of  literary  beauty  in  Lycidas  ? 

A  SUBJECT  FOE  SPECIAL  INVESTIGATION. 
Eead  carefully  Bryant's  Thanatopsis,  Shelley's  Adonais, 
and  Tennyson's  In  Memoriam,  introductory  stanzas,  Parts 
i,  v,  xi,  xix,  xxn,  xxvin,  liv,  lxxxii,  civ,  cvi.  Do  you 
prefer  any  one  of  these  poems  to  Lycidas  ?  If  so, 
why  ? 


STUDIES   IN   COLLEGE  REQUIREMENTS.         257 

COLERIDGE'S   RIME   OF  THE  ANCIENT 
MARINER. 

Form.  —  What  is  the  metrical  form  of  the  Old  Ballad  f 
Why  does  the  poet  select  this  form  for  the  Rime  of  the 
Ancient  Mariner  ?  What  effect  is  produced  in  the  first  and 
second  stanzas  by  omitting  verbs  to  introduce  the  words  of 
the  speakers  ?  Compare  with  the  first  stanza  of  the  old 
ballad,  Sir  Patrick  Spens.  Compare  the  first  line  of  Cole- 
ridge's poem  with  the  first  line  of  the  old  ballad,  The  Battle 
of  Otterbourne.  What  are  some  of  the  characteristics  of  the 
Old  Ballads  ?  What  effect  is  gained  by  beginning  the  Rime 
with  the  present  tense  ?  Why  does  the  poet  introduce  a 
wedding  guest  to  whom  the  mariner  would  relate  his  tale  ? 
What  effect  is  secured  by  casting  the  story  in  the  form  of 
a  conversation  ?  Does  our  interest  in  the  tale  lead  us  to 
forget  the  presence  of  the  wedding  guest  ?  Does  the  poet 
forget  him  as  the  story  proceeds  ?  What  effect  is  gained 
for  the  story  as  a  whole  by  the  occasional  allusions  to  a 
listener  ? 

Setting.  —  Do  you  see  anything  in  the  poem  to  indicate 
the  time  of  the  story?  Can  you  tell  what  was  the  mariner's 
"own  countree"?  In  giving  the  course  of  the  ship,  does 
the  poet  have  his  reasons  for  purposely  avoiding  mention  of 
definite  geographical  localities  ?  What  effect  is  produced 
on  the  imagination  by  transporting  the  reader  to  a  silent 
sea,  beyond  the  actual  world  ?  Does  the  imaginative  reader 
find  it  easy  to  accept  the  supernatural  ?  What  touches  in 
the  opening  stanzas  emphasize  the  intensity  of  the  narra- 
tor ?  What  does  the  uneasiness  of  the  listener  indicate 
regarding  the  progress  of  the  tale?  When  does  his  interest 
in  the  story  overcome  his  desire  to  attend  the  wedding? 
Do  you  see  any  particular  fascination  connected  with  stories 
of  the  sea  ? 


258  APPENDIX  C. 

Story.  —  State  the  main  event  in  each  of  the  seven  parts. 
Why  did  the  mariner  shoot  the  albatross  ?  Why  was  his  act 
a  crime  ?  What  tortures  came  upon  him  ?  What  was  the 
curse  of  Life-in-Death  ?  At  what  point  do  you  find  the  be- 
ginning of  his  expiation,  in  love  for  living  things  ?  In  what 
sense  is  this  point  in  the  development  of  the  story,  like  the 
climax  of  a  drama?  Note  the  development  in  the  character 
of  the  mariner ;  at  first  he  seemed  to  have  no  conscience. 
By  what  penance  does  he  expiate  his  crime  ?  What  is  the 
purpose  of  introducing  the  blessed  spirits  ?  How  do  they 
contrast  with  the  spirits  in  the  first  half  of  the  story  ?  At 
what  point  in  the  story  is  the  dread  curse  removed  ?  What 
induces  the  blessed  spirits  to  bring  the  mariner  to  haven  ? 
After  his  terrible  experience,  what  moral  does  he  always 
preach  ? 

Literary  Aspect.  —  Point  out  ways  by  which  the  poet 
has  woven  into  his  story  a  weird  and  dreamy  effect,  not 
commonly  found  in  the  Old  Ballads.  Examine  carefully 
his  diction,  noticing  his  discrimination  in  the  choice  of 
words.  Why  is  the  title  The  Rime  of  the  Ancient  Mariner 
more  appropriate  than  The  Story  of  the  Old  Sailor  f  What 
mystical  numbers  in  the  poem  ?  What  is  the  effect  of 
alluding  to  the  albatross  at  the  end  of  each  part?  Why 
does  the  poet  use  so  many  obsolete  words  ?  Select  some 
of  the  most  vivid  descriptions  and  examine  the  author's 
method.  Make  a  collection  of  simple  figures  of  speech 
taken  from  everyday  life;  make  also  a  list  of  specific  words; 
what  effect  is  secured  by  using  these  words  ?  Do  you  find 
any  onomatopoetic  lines  ?  What  evidence  do  you  see  that 
the  poet  was  sensitive  to  sounds  ?  Is  the  poem,  as  a  whole, 
melodious?  Select  and  commit  to  memory  the  stanza  which 
you  think  contains  the  moral.  Is  the  mariner  completely 
regenerated  at  the  end  of  the  poem  ?  In  what  sense  may 
we   say   that   the   terrible    story  leaves   us   with   pleasant 


STUDIES  IN   COLLEGE  IlEQUIHEMENTS.         259 

thoughts  ?      "Why  is    The  Rime  of  the  Ancient  Mariner  a 
great  poem  ? 

THEMES  FOR   COMPOSITIONS. 

Tell  the  story  of  the  Phantom  Ship. 

Narrate  briefly  the  actual  events  of  the  story. 

Tell  the  story  as  the  wedding  guest  would  have  related  it  to  the 
next  man  he  met. 

Eelate  the  story,  centering  the  incidents  around  the  bird,  begin- 
ning, "  Once  there  was  a  beautiful  white  bird,"  etc. 

Eecount  the  events  of  Part  VII,  in  the  third  person,  beginning, 

"Once  there  was  a  pilot  who,  with  a  hermit  and  a  little  boy, 
was  making  signals  to  a  distant  vessel,"  etc. 

MACAULAY'S  ESSAY  ON  ADDISON. 

General  Plan.  —  What  are  the  six  or  seven  general  divisions 
of  this  essay  ?  Does  it  seem  to  you  that  any  of  the  topics 
receive  undue  emphasis  ?  Notice  how  skilfully  the  author 
has  interwoven  the  two  threads :  the  one,  tracing  Addison's 
literary  career ;  the  other,  tracing  his  political  career.  Does 
the  order  seem  natural  and  easy  ?  Find  two  paragraphs  near 
the  beginning  in  which  the  essayist  sums  up  the  literary  and 
personal  standing  of  Addison ;  compare  them  with  the  last 
two  sentences  in  the  essay  and  see  whether  all  these  points 
have  been  developed.  Find  echoes  of  these  thoughts  through- 
out the  body  of  the  essay.  How  does  the  plan  compare  with 
the  plan  of  the  essay  on  Milton  ?  On  Johnson  ?  Which  of 
the  three  required  the  most  knowledge  ?  Which  shows  the 
most  elaborate  rhetorical  flourish  ?  Which  seems  to  be  the 
simplest  ?     Which  was  written  last  ? 

Subject-matter.  —  Summarize  in  a  few  words  the  main 
topics  treated.  Is  Macaulay  guilty  of  the  "  abject  idolatry  " 
which  he  criticises  in  others  ?  Do  you  like  the  way  in  which 
he  criticises  Miss  Aikin's  book  ?    Make  a  list  of  the  authors 


260  APPENDIX   C. 

referred  to  in  this  essay ;  what  would  you  conclude  in  regard 
to  the  extent  of  Macaulay's  reading  ?  Make  an  approximate 
estimate  of  the  political  leaders  of  Queen  Anne's  time  with 
whom  he  seems  to  be  familiar  ;  does  he  seem  to  be  well 
acquainted  with  the  times  concerning  which  he  writes  ? 
Would  you  infer  from  the  way  in  which  he  writes  that  he 
had  had  personal  experience  as  a  member  of  Parliament? 
Does  he  betray  any  political  partisanship  ?  Do  you  think 
that  this  essay  could  have  been  written  by  a  young  man  ? 
Indicate  some  of  the  avenues  of  culture  which  must  have 
been  open  to  the  author  of  this  essay. 

Style.  —  Find  illustrations  of  Macaulay's  love  of  suggest- 
ing pictures,  when  a  general  statement  of  facts  might  con- 
vey the  thought.  State  several  reasons  why  Macaulay's 
sentences  are  clear  and  forceful.  Note  the  various  ways  by 
which  the  paragraphs  are  connected.  Do  you  see  any  sug- 
gestions of  brusqueness  or  self-confidence  on  the  part  of  the 
author  ?  How  has  he  secured  force  for  his  style  ?  Life  ? 
Variety  ?  What  are  some  of  the  methods  he  uses  in  giving 
his  exposition  of  Addison's  personality  ?  Select  a  paragraph 
that  has  particularly  interested  you ;  see  if  it  contains  a 
topic  sentence  and  study  the  methods  used  for  developing 
the  thought.  Where  do  you  find  rhetorical  questions  intro- 
duced ?  Why  should  they  be  so  abundant  in  these  parts  of 
the  essay  ?  Does  he  show  any  unreasonable  prejudices  ? 
To  what  extent  does  he  use  his  favorite  method,  compari- 
son ?  Do  you  find  his  sentences  longer  or  shorter  than  you 
found  them  in  the  essay  on  Milton  ?  Macaulay  once  said 
that  since  few  people  read  an  article  in  a  review  twice,  "  a 
bold,  dashing,  scene-painting  manner  is  that  which  always 
succeeds  in  periodical  writing  "  ;  do  you  think  that  he  was 
right  ?  Has  he  secured  for  himself  this  manner  ?  Do  you 
see  any  dangers  that  lurk  in  the  path  of  the  historian  who 
uses  this  manner?      What  advantages   has   the   historical 


STUDIES   IN   COLLEGE  REQUIREMENTS.         261 

essay  of  Macaulay  over  the  ponderous  history  with  minute 
elaborations  ?  What  service  have  his  essays  rendered  to 
the  nineteenth  century  ? 

SUBJECTS  FOR   TWO-MINUTE   TALKS. 

The  Early  Life  and  Education  of  Addison. 

Addison's  Classical  Attainments. 

Addison's  Campaign. 

The  Founding  of  Tlie  Toiler  and  Hie  Spectator 

Addison's  Friends. 

Addison's  Influence  on  English  Morals. 

Addison's  Relations  with  Steele,  Swift,  and  Pope. 

Addison's  Political  Career. 

Addison's  Rosamond  and  his  Cato. 

Macaulay's  Estimate  of  Steele. 

Macaulay's  Estimate  of  Addison's  Personal  Character. 

ADDISON'S  BE  C OVE RLE  Y  PAPERS. 

Setting.  —  Indicate  customs  and  fashions  mentioned  in 
the  Sir  Roger  cle  Coverley  Papers  which  connect  the  essays 
with  the  England  of  Queen  Anne's  time.  What  are  some 
of  the  characteristics  of  the  political  situation  which  the 
Papers  reflect  ?  Determine  from  the  essays  the  Tory 
principles.  What  were  the  chief  points  characterizing  the 
Whig  policy  ?  What  intimations  are  given  in  the  Papers 
of  popular  superstitions  ?  Mention  ten  or  twelve  names  of 
localities  alluded  to,  that  connect  many  of  the  essays  with 
London  life.  Indicate  those  features  of  country  life  which 
connect  the  Papers  with  England. 

Plot.  —  Relate  very  simply  the  story  of  Sir  Roger's  life, 
beginning,  "  Once  upon  a  time  there  lived  a  country  gen- 
tleman," etc.  How  does  it  differ  from  the  plot  of  a  modern 
serial  story  ?      If  it  were  developed  into  a  regular  novel, 


262  APPENDIX  C. 

what  incidents  would  receive  the  most  careful  elaboration 
on  the  part  of  the  novelist  ?  What  sort  of  incidents  might 
be  added  to  develop  the  plot  ?  If  developed  into  a  novel, 
would  the  story  make  a  thrilling  narrative,  or  a  quaint  little 
romance  ? 

Characters.  —  How  many  grades  of  society  do  you  find 
in  the  club  to  which  Sir  Roger  belonged  ?  Did  the  authors 
of  the  Papers  have  any  particular  interest  in  the  poor 
people  of  London  ?  Which  member  of  the  club  represents 
the  fashionable  city  gentleman  ?  Which  member  most 
stoutly  advocates  the  cause  of  the  Whigs  ?  Who  is  the 
most  decided  Tory  ?  Which  of  these  two  defends  his  posi- 
tion with  the  more  practical  arguments  ?  Does  the  Specta- 
tor betray  his  political  opinions  ?  Which  member  of  the 
club  has  the  most  sense  of  humor  ?  Is  the  Spectator  an 
interesting  character  ?  Would  you  like  to  have  him  visit 
you  ?  Give  reasons  for  your  answer.  Was  the  widow  a 
sweetheart  worthy  of  Sir  Roger?  What  do  you  think  of 
Will  Wimble  ?  Why  has  the  quaint  and  kindly  character 
of  Sir  Roger  cle  Coverley  lived  in  literature  for  nearly  two 
hundred  years  ?  Does  this  old-fashioned  country  gentleman 
remind  you  of  a  similar  eighteenth-century  character  in 
English  literature?  Does  he  resemble  Colonel  Carter  of 
Carters ville,  a  character  of  recent  American  literary  fame  ? 

Purpose  of  the  Papers.  —  What  is  the  finely  wrought  truth 
that  is  embodied  in  the  character  of  Sir  Roger  ?  What  led 
the  authors  to  lay  stress  upon  it?  Outline  Papers  No.  6, 
No.  108,  No.  109,  No.  112,  No.  114,  No.  119,  No.  122,  No. 
123,  No.  125,  and  No.  132.  State  the  special  evil  which  you 
think  each  of  these  papers  aims  to  correct. 

Literary  Art.  —  Why  did  Dr.  Johnson  advise  writers  who 
wish  to  cultivate  a  good  style,  to  spend  days  and  nights 
with  Addison  ?     Which  of  the  higher  qualities  of  style  does 


STUDIES  IN  COLLEGE  REQUIREMENTS.         263 

Addison  possess  ?  Which  does  he  lack  ?  Examine  the 
ways  in  which  he  connects  his  paragraphs.  What  are 
some  of  the  ways  by  which  he  secures  variety  in  the  setting 
of  his  papers  ?  To  what  extent  does  he  add  interest  to  his 
essays  by  the  use  of  anecdote  ?  In  which  kind  of  writing 
does  he  succeed  better,  —  description  and  narration  com- 
bined, or  exposition  ?  In  what  sense  did  he  create  the 
informal  essay  of  English  literature  ?  Select  the  paper 
which  you  think  best  illustrates  his  delicate  use  of  satire. 
Mention  papers  that  furnish  evidences  of  his  familiarity 
with  classic  writers.  Do  you  notice  a  very  decided  differ- 
ence between  the  style  of  Addison  and  the  style  of  a  modern 
story- writer  ? 

THEMES  FOR  ESSAYS. 

The  Simplicity  and  Kindness  of  Sir  Roger. 

Sir  Roger  and  the  Spectator,  —  a  Study  in  Friends. 

The  Spectator  (or  Sir  Roger)  as  I  see  him. 

Write  a  paper  after  the  style  of  Paper  No.  2,  sketching  a  club  of 

whimsical  characters  that  compose  the  staff  of  a  modern 

school  journal. 
Sir  Roger's  Good  Manners. 
A  Modern  Sir  Roger  whom  I  once  met. 
Sir  Roger's  Interests  as  a  Country  Gentleman. 
Imagine  a  paper  written  by  the  Spectator  on  Sir  Roger's  Library; 

use  Papers  No.  37  and  No.  109  as  models. 
Dr.  Primrose  and  Sir  Roger,  — a  Comparison. 
Compose  a  letter  that  you  imagine  the  widow  might  write  to  one 

of  her  city  friends,  after  she  has  received  news  of  Sir  Roger's 

death. 
Irving  and  Addison  compared. 
Write  a  paper  for  '  The  Spectator,'  imitating  Addison's  peculiar 

style,  on  one  of  the  following  subjects :    A  Comment  on 

Modern  Fashions ;  A  Ride  in  an  Automobile;  An  Afternoon 

Tea ;  An  Inspection  of  a  Modern  English  Class. 


264  APPENDIX  a 

IRVING'S    OLIVER    GOLDSMITH,  A  BIOGRAPHY. 

The  Biography.  —  In  what  sense  is  this  biography  like  a 
novel  ?  In  what  sense  is  it  like  a  history  ?  How  does  it 
differ  in  method  of  treatment  from  an  historical  essay,  — 
Macanlay's  Life  of  Samuel  Johnson,  for  instance  ?  Is  it  any 
more  than  a  collection  of  anecdotes  ?  Does  it  contain  many 
dates?  Examine  the  chapters  and  see  whether  the  dates  are 
distributed  uniformly.  Do  you  feel  acquainted  with  Gold- 
smith ?  Read  the  first  paragraph  of  the  first  chapter;  has 
the  author  succeeded  throughout .  his  biography  in  making 
you  feel  a  "  personal  kindness "  for  Oliver  Goldsmith  ? 
Make  a  collection  of  twenty-five  or  thirty  phrases  or  clauses 
which  indicate  living's  admiration  for  Goldsmith,  —  like 
"  his  gifted  pages,"  "  which  appeal  so  eloquently,"  "  a 
genius  and  a  poet."  Make  a  similar  collection  to  show 
Irving's  emphasis  of  Goldsmith's  "  amiable  views  of  human 
life."  Find  five  or  six  passages  which  reveal  Irving's  genu- 
ine sympathy  with  "  poor  Goldsmith."  Do  you  find  particu- 
lar characteristics  of  Goldsmith  that  are  emphasized  again 
and  again  ?  What  proportion  of  the  biography  is  devoted 
to  Goldsmith's  life  before  he  was  thirty  years  old  ?  What 
proportion  to  the  years  between  thirty  and  forty  ?  What 
proportion  to  the  last  five  or  six  years  of  his  life  ?  How  do 
you  account  for  the  amount  of  space  devoted  to  the  last  part  ? 
In  which  chapter  has  the  author  almost  nothing  to  say  about 
Goldsmith  ?  Could  this  chapter  be  omitted  ?  Is  each  chap- 
ter a  unit  of  thought,  or  does  the  biographer  regulate  the 
length  of  his  chapters  by  his  feelings  ?  Do  you  notice  any 
effort  to  connect  smoothly  one  chapter  with  another  ?  Notice 
the  variety  and  the  smoothness  which  he  uses  in  connecting 
his  paragraphs.  In  what  respects  is  Irving's  biography 
attractive  to  you  ?  Do  you  see  any  defects  ?  What  have 
you  to  say  as  to  the  "  purity  and  beauty  of  his  diction  "  ? 


STUDIES  IN   COLLEGE  REQUIREMENTS.         265 

The  Biographer.  —  Read  again  the  first  paragraph  of  the 
first  chapter  ;  do  you  think  that  it  may  be  equally  applied 
to  Irving  himself  ?  How  long  after  the  death  of  Goldsmith 
did  Irving  write  his  biography  ?  Make  a  list  of  Irving's 
other  literary  works.  What  circumstances,  in  each  case,  led 
him  to  write  the  biographies  ?  Do  you  recognize  the  same 
Irving  behind  the  Biography  of  Goldsmith  as  behind  the 
Sketch-Book  ?  What  are  his  greatest  charms  as  a  man  of 
letters  ? 


TOPICS  FOR  SPECIAL  INVESTIGATION. 

A  comparison  of  Charles  Dudley  Warner's  Life  of  Irving 
with  Irving's  Oliver  Goldsmith,  a  Biography. 

Similar  Tendencies  in  the  Characters  of  Irving  and  Gold- 
smith. 

Striking  Points  of  Difference  in  the  Characters  and  Exter- 
nal Circumstances  of  Irving  and  Goldsmith. 

Irving's  Continental  Travels  contrasted  with  Goldsmith's 
First  Trip  with  his  Magic  Flute. 

Last  Happy  Years  of  the  Sage  of  Sunnyside. 

Compare  Salmagundi  and  The  Sketch-Book  with  the  Spec- 
tator; is  Irving  rightly  styled  "the  American  Addison"  ? 

Compare  Irving's  description  of  the  Literary  Club,  in 
Chapter  XIV  of  his  biography,  with  Addison's  descrip- 
tion of  the  Spectator  Club,  in  Spectator  No.  2. 

Irving  and  Scott,  — Friends. 

Irving,  —  Story-teller,  Biographer,  and  Historian. 

Irving,  —  Romancer  of  Old  Spain  and  of  the  New  World. 

Pen  Names  of  Irving. 

Irving's  Opportunities  for  Culture. 

Irving,  First  American  Man  of  Letters. 

Does  Irving  fulfil  the  duties  of  a  biographer  as  indicated 
in  the  first  five  paragraphs  of  Carlyle's  Essay  on  Burns  ? 


266  APPENDIX  C. 

SUBJECTS  FOR  FIVE-MINUTE  TALKS. 

(These  subjects  are  suggested  for  talks  which  should  be  outlined 
with  careful  study  of  the  biography  beforehand.  Unless  the  pupil 
consults  the  text  with  a  view  toward  preparing  a  comprehensive  and 
coherent  account  of  the  subject  which  he  has  selected,  he  will  say  little 
to  the  purpose.) 

To  what  extent  does  The  Vicar  of  Wakefield  reflect  scenes 
from  the  author's  own  experience  ? 

Goldsmith's  Clubs :  what  to  his  taste  did  he  find  in 
each  ? 

Goldsmith's  experiences  as  teacher,  would-be  preacher, 
and  would-be  doctor:  why  was  he  a  failure  in  each 
capacity  ? 

Goldsmith's  literary  job-work  and  his  struggles  with  his 
publishers. 

Select  ten  anecdotes  which  illustrate  Goldsmith's  sim- 
plicity. Group  them  according  to  some  principle  of 
division,  —  as  for  instance,  "  simplicity  with  regard  to 
money  matters,"  "  to  social  customs,"  and  otherwise : 
arrange  them  according  to  climax,  when  you  relate 
them. 

Goldsmith's  contests  with  Dr.  Johnson :  show  why  he 
was  frequently  vanquished. 

Give  a  short  account  of  Goldsmith's  life,  using  as  an  out- 
line a  time  succession ;  as,  boyhood,  youth,  manhood, 
last  days. 

Give  a  short  account  of  Goldsmith's  life,  using  as  an  out- 
line a  place  order ;  as,  Ireland,  Scotland,  the  Conti- 
nent, England. 

Give  some  reasons  for  Goldsmith's  popularity  as  a  boy,  as 
a  man,  and  as  a  writer. 

Give  some  reasons  for  the  charm  of  Irving's  biography  of 
Goldsmith. 


STUDIES  IN  COLLEGE  REQUIREMENTS.         267 

THEMES  FOR  COMPOSITIONS. 

Goldsmith  and  the  Jessamy  Bride. 

Goldsmith  as  a  Conversationalist. 

Personal  Defects  in  the  Appearance  of  Poor  Noll. 

Goldsmith  in  the  Drawing-room, 

Goldsmith  and  Johnson,  —  Friends. 

Goldsmith,  Spendthrift  of  Money  and  of  Talents, 

Goldsmith's  Love  of  Children. 

Goldsmith  as  a  Letter-writer. 

Goldsmith's  London  Life. 

Goldsmith's  Two  Continental  Trips  Contrasted. 

Goldsmith,  —  an  Innate  Gentleman. 

The  Pathos  of  Goldsmith's  Last  Days. 

SCOTT'S   IVANHOE. 

Setting.  —  When  did  the  events  occur  ?  Where  ?  Who 
was  on  England's  throne  ?  Show  by  chart  his  relationship 
to  William  the  Conqueror.  State  some  of  the  laws,  customs, 
and  social  conditions  of  the  Saxons  as  indicated  by  Scott. 
What  characteristics  of  Norman  civilization  does  he  empha- 
size? How  does  he  bring  out  the  relations  existing  between 
Norman  and  Saxon?  What  do  you  learn  concerning  the 
state  of  the  English  language  at  that  time,  according  to 
Scott's  story  ?  What  intimations  are  given  of  the  comfort, 
defence,  and  beauty  belonging  to  a  Norman  castle  of  that 
century  ?  What  discomforts  does  Cedric's  home  suggest  ? 
What  ideals  of  hospitality  were  prevalent  among  the 
Saxons  ?  Indicate  the  social  position  of  the  Jews  as  repre- 
sented in  Ivanhoe.  What  were  some  of  the  requirements 
made  of  a  good  knight,  as  set  forth  in  the  romance  ?  How 
many  tournaments  add  descriptive  color  to  the  background  ? 
What  idea  of  the  Crusaders  do  you  get  from  reading 
Ivanhoe  ?     Were  they  noble  and  sincere  ?     Do  you  gain  an 


268  APPENDIX  C. 

impression  that  the  Crusades  were  dignified  and  wide- 
spread ?  What  character,  does  Scott  ascribe  to  the  outlaws  ? 
How  does  the  number  of  scenes  representing  outdoor  life 
compare  approximately  with  the  number  of  scenes  set  within 
doors  ?  Do  you  know  whether  Scott  liked  to  be  out  of 
doors?  Did  he  love  nature?  According  to  your  judg- 
ment, what  feature  of  the  times  does  the  author  depict 
most  attractively? 

Plot.  —  What  are  the  three  separate  threads  of  the  story 
as  a  whole  ?  Where  and  how  do  they  unite  ?  Find  the 
beginning,  the  climax,  and  the  end  of  each.  Does  the 
author  often  keep  you  in  suspense  ?  Select  three  illustra- 
tions of  good  story -telling;  show  by  what  means  Scott  has 
made  each  incident  impressive.  Which  scene  do  you  con- 
sider most  dramatic  ?     Why  ?     Is  the  ending  satisfactory  ? 

Characters.  —  How  many  classes  of  society  are  repre- 
sented? Which  are  in  the  majority  —  kings,  knights  and 
ladies,  or  the  poorer  classes  ?  Do  the  characters  talk  like 
real  people  or  do  they  converse  somewhat  like  actors  on  the 
stage  ?  Contrast  Scott  and  Dickens  as  to  the  kind  of  char- 
acters that  attract  each.  Are  the  stately  characters  of 
Scott  for  the  most  part  noble  ?  Is  Scott  an  admirer  of 
physical  bravery  ?  How  many  women  are  in  the  story  ? 
Why  so  few  ?  Which  characters  represent  types  of  Saxon 
thanes  ?  Of  Norman  knights  ?  Which  character  stands 
for  a  type  of  the  Saxon  serf  ?  Of  the  Saxon  yeoman  ?  Of 
the  Saxon  lady  ?  Of  the  Norman  baron  ?  Of  the  Jew  ? 
In  which  character  are  blended  the  best  qualities  of  the 
Saxon  thane  with  the  best  qualities  of  the  Norman  knight  ? 
Give  the  leading  trait  of  Cedric ;  of  Rowena ;  of  Rebecca ; 
of  Richard ;  and  of  the  Templar.  Which  do  you  like 
best?  Which  do  you  like  least?  Why?  Who  is  the 
villain  ?    the  hero  ?  the  heroine  ? 


STUDIES  IN  COLLEGE   REQUIREMENTS.         269 

Theme.  —  To  which  of  the  three  themes  does  the  author 
attach  most  significance :  to  the  love-story  of  Ivanhoe  and 
Rowena,  to  the  hate-story  of  Ivanhoe  and  the  Templar, 
or  to  the  historical  story  of  Richard's  struggle  for  the 
throne  ?     Give  reasons  for  your  answer. 

The  Author.  —  Why  has  Scott  been  styled  the  Prince 
of  Romancers  ?  What  picturesque  and  romantic  features 
especially' attracted  him  to  the  historic  background  of  Ivan- 
hoe ?  Do  his  descriptions  add  interest,  or  do  they  interrupt 
unpleasantly  the  dash  and  rapidity  of  the  story  ?  Choose 
two  or  three  of  his  character  descriptions  and  examine  his 
method;  do  the  same  with  regard  to  his  descriptions  of 
places.  Are  these  descriptions  sufficiently  exact  to  be 
reproduced  by  painter  or  draughtsman  ?  Did  he  know 
how  to  tell  a  story  well  ?  Does  the  interest  in  Ivanhoe 
depend  on  setting,  plot,  or  characters  ?  Do  you  see  reasons 
why  the  atmosphere  of  Scott's  stories  is  pure*  and  whole- 
some ?  Do  you  discover  any  evidences  of  careless  work- 
manship ?  Was  he  a  rapid  writer  ?  Was  he  bothered  very 
much  with  the  serious  responsibility  of  thinking  hard,  — as 
was  Shakespeare  or  George  Eliot  ?  Does  Scott  the  Novelist 
resemble  Scott  the  Poet  ?  During  what  part  of  his  life  did 
he  write  his  poems?  Make  a  chronological  list  of  his  works, 
noticing  what  sort  of  subjects  attracted  him,  so  far  as  you 
are  able  to  discover.  How  did  the  character  of  his  educa- 
tion prepare  him  for  his  later  literary  work  ?  Why  was  he 
called  the  Wizard  of  the  North  ? 

SUBJECTS  FOR  ORAL  EXERCISES  IN  RELATING  SHORT  STORIES. 

Ivanhoe's  Challenge  of  Guilbert. 

Rebecca's  Description  of  the  Attack  on  the  Castle. 

The  Death  of  Ulrica. 

The  Death  of  Front-de-Bceuf. 

The  Trial  of  Rebecca. 

The  Contest  in  Behalf  of  Rebecca. 


270  APPENDIX  C. 

THEMES  FOR  COMPOSITIONS. 

A  Day  with  the  "  Gallant  Outlaws." 
Ivanhoe,  a  Faultless  Knight. 

Ivanhoe  and  the  Templar,  —  Two  Studies  in  Manhood. 
With  Ulrica  and  Torquilstone. 
A  Struggle  for  a  Throne. 
A  Story  of  Knightly  Hatred. 
A  Story  of  Knightly  Love. 
Eebecca,  a  Noble  "Woman. 
Eowena,  a  Lovable  Woman. 
The  Home  Life  of  Sir  Walter. 
The  Great  Antiquary. 

Compare  Scott  the  Poet  with  Scott  the  Novelist,  keeping  in  mind 
two  representative  works  which  you  have  read. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Montgomery's  English  History,  Chapters  v  and  vi. 
Green's  A  Short  History  of  the  English  People,  Chapter  n. 
Lockhart's  Life  of  Sir  Walter  Scott. 


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p.  271 


INDEXES. 


I.     INDEX   OF  AUTHORS. 


Addison,  Joseph,  28,  63,  131,  132, 

13(5,  137,  138,  119,  214,   261-2(33, 

265,  271. 
^Esop,  26,  121. 
Agassiz,  Jean  Louis  Rodolphe, 

194. 
Aikin,  Lucy,  2f>9. 
Arnold,  Matthew,  43,  132,  231. 
Austen,   Jane,  25,  233. 

Bacon,   Francis,   130. 

Bible,   53,  (JO,  61,  170,  182,203,  212, 

213,  214.  215,  217,  231,  233,  239. 
Black,   William,  233. 
Blackmore,  Richard  Doddridge, 

99,  100,  233. 
Boyesen.  Hjalmar  Hjorth,  233. 
Brown,  John,   91. 
Browning,  Elizabeth  Barrett,  40, 

123,  231. 
Browning-,    Robert,   88,  109,  121, 

148,  231. 
Bryant,  William  Cullen,  27,  115, 

123,  127,  231,  256. 
Bulwer,  Edward   George,     Earl 

Ly t ton,  233. 
Bunyan,   John,  27,  233,  242. 
Burke,  Edmund,  68,  69,  169,  172, 

188,     205,     209,    218,    239,     240, 

271. 
Burney.  Frances   (Madame  d'Ar- 

blay),  233. 
Burns,'  Robert,   42,  127,  131,   177, 

180,  231. 
Burroughs,  John,  232. 
Byron,     George     Noel    Gordon 

(Lord),  41,  43,  44,  109,  231. 


Cable,  George  Washington,  233. 
Carlyle.  Thomas,  1, 143,  145,  232. 
Carroll,    Lewis      (Charles      Lut- 

widge  Dodgson),  28,  52,  73. 
Cary,   Henry    Francis,  135,  231. 
Cervantes,  Saavedra,  40. 
Chaucer,  Geoffrey,  231. 
Cicero,  Marcus  Tullius,  171,  215, 

217,  218,  233. 
Clemens,    Samuel    L.     (Mark 

Twain),  27,  233. 
Coleridge.  Samuel  T.,  27,  40,  98, 

IIS,  176,  241,  257-259,  271. 
Connor,  Ralph,  233. 
Cooper,  James  Fenimore,  233. 
Cowper,  William,  107. 
Crockett,  S.  R.,  233. 
Curtis,  George  William,  232,  233. 

Dana.  Charles   Anderson,  231. 
Dante,  Alighieri,  135,  231. 
David,  231. 
Davis.  Richard  Harding,  28,  100, 

101. 
Decatur,  Stephen,  147. 
Defoe.  Daniel.  27. 
Demosthenes.  218.  233. 
De  Quincey,  Thomas,  232. 
Dickens,  Charles,  28, 55,  64, 74,  83, 

84,  85,  89,  97,  121,  185,  232,  233, 

240,  242. 
Doyle,  A.  Conan,  233. 
Dryden,  John,  231. 

Ebers.  Georg.  233. 
Eliot,  George  (Mrs.  Marian  Evans 
Cross),  27,  85,  86,  98,  233,  271. 


273 


27-4 


INDEXES. 


Emerson,  Ralph  Waldo,  38,  44, 
45,  68,  83,  108,  144,  148,  194,  214, 
231,  232. 

Emmett,  Robert,  239. 

Everett,  Edward,  60. 

Ewing,  Juliana  H.,  28. 

Field,  Eugene,  120,  231. 
Fiske,  John,  232. 
Fox,  John,  233. 
Franklin,  Benjamin,   232. 
Froude,  James  Anthony,  214. 

Gaskell,  Mrs.  (Elizabeth  C.  Ste- 
venson), 233. 

Gilder,  Richard  Watson,  123. 

Gladstone,  William  Ewart, 
224. 

Goethe,  Johann  Wolfgang  von, 
124. 

Goldsmith,  Oliver,  127,  131,  179, 
231,  204-267,  271. 

Grant,  Ulysses  S.,  232. 

Gray,  Thomas,  31,  131,  167,  178, 
180,  182,  231,255. 

Green,  John  Richard,  89,  232,  270. 

Guerber,  Helene  Marie  Adeline, 
232. 

Hadley,  Arthur  T.,  232. 
Hale,  Edward  Everett,  28. 
Halleck,  Fitz-Greene,  47. 
Harris,  Joel  Chandler,  233. 
Hawthorne,  Julian,  232. 
Hawthorne,  Natnaniel,  28,97,98, 

99,  232,  233. 
Hay,  John,  231. 
Hayne,  Robert  Young,  233. 
Hazlitt,  William,  188. 
Heine,  Heinrich,  124. 
Hemans,  Mrs.  Felicia,  120. 
Henry,   Patrick,  41,  173,  211,  217, 

218,  233,  240. 
Higginson,       Thomas       Went- 

worth,  67. 
Hodge,  Clifton  Fremont,  91. 
Hogg,  James,  108. 
Holmes,  Oliver  Wendell,  44,  65, 

66,  120,  131,  142,  177,  231,  232. 


Homer,  231. 

Howells,  William  Dean,  233. 

Hughes,  Thomas,  233. 

Hugo,  Victor  Marie,  53,  62,  233. 

Hunt,  Helen  (later  Mrs.  Jackson), 

82. 
Hunt,  James  Henry  Leigh,  123. 

Ingelow,  Jean,  85,  121. 

Irving,  Washington,  27,  28,  31, 52, 

53,  55,  84,  104,  175,  183,  232,  233, 

240,  242,  264-267,  271. 

Jewett,  Sarah  O.,  232. 
Johnson,  Samuel,   170,   259,  264, 
271. 

Keary,  Annie  and  Eliza,  232. 
Keats,  John.  123,  175,  170,  180. 
Kingsley,  Charles,  233. 
Kipling,  Rudyard,  26,  28,  100,  231, 

233. 
Koerner,  Karl  Theodor,  124. 

Lamb,  Charles,  177,  232,  233. 

Lamb,  Mary,  233. 

Lanier,  Sidney,  232. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  130,  158,  218, 

233. 
Lockhart,  John  Gibson,  270. 
Lodge,   Henry  Cabot,  232. 
London,  Jack,  233. 
Long,  William  Joseph,  91. 
Longfellow,   Henry   W.,  27,  30, 

43,  47,  48,  98,  108,  115,  120,  121, 

123,  215,   231. 
Lowell,  James  Russell,  27,  31,  42, 

79,    83,  98,    108,    115,    116,   121, 

123,  231,  233,  271. 

M'Carthy,  Justin,  232. 

Macaulay,  Thomas  Babington, 
34,  47,  60,  120,  132,  134, 135,  136, 
138,  142,  149,  150,  152,  153,  171, 
173,  204,  231,  232, 241,  259-261, 271. 

Maupassant,  Guy  de,  88. 

Meredith.  Owen,  Edward  Robert 
Lytton  Bulwer,   195. 

Miller,   Olive  Thome,  91,   232. 


INDEX   OF  AUTHORS. 


275 


Milton,  John,  41,  98,  113,  122,  124, 
130,  131,  150,  169,  175.,  178, 
180,  184,  189,  231,  254-256, 
271. 

Mitchell,  Silas  Weir,    233. 

Mitford,  Mary  Russell,  217. 

Montgomery,  James,  41,  270. 

Moore,   Frank  Frankfort,  233. 

Moore,  Thomas,   117,  231. 

Morley,  John,  232. 

Morris,  "William,   160. 

Morse,  John  Torrey,  232. 

Motley,  John  Lothrop,  232. 

Mulock,  Dinah  Maria  (Mrs. 
Craik),  233. 

Munger,  T.  T.,  232. 

Oberholtzer,  Ella  Paxson,  232. 
O'Hara,  Theodore,  107. 
Ollivant,  Alfred,  91. 
Osgood,  Frances  Sargent,  195. 

Page,  Thomas  Nelson,  233. 
Palgrave,  Francis  Turner,  231. 
Parkman.   Francis,  43,  232. 
Passavant,  Johann  David,  78. 
Paul,   St.,  217,  233. 
Peattie,  Ella  Wilkinson,   231. 
Percy,   Thomas   (Bishop),  231. 
Petrarch  (Petrarca  Francesco), 

145. 
Phillips,  Stephen,  231. 
Pitt,  William,  161. 
Plutarch,  232. 

Poe,  Edgar  Allan,  28,  184,  233. 
Pope,  Alexander,  127,  167. 
Prescott,  William  H.,  232. 

Riis,  Jacob  August,  232. 
Riley,  James  Whitcomb,  231. 
Ruskin,  John,   28,    133,    211,    229, 
232. 

Schiller,  Johann  Christoph 
Friedrich  von,  124,  231. 

Scott,  Sir  Walter,  22-24,  27,  33, 
59,  70,  71,  98,  112,  114,  117,  125, 
147,  178,  182,  231,  232,  233,  267- 
270,  271. 


Shakespeare,  William,  40,  41,  42, 
44,  46,  47,  97,  98,  114,  115,  125, 
126,  131,  148,  166,  Ki7,  171,  177, 
179,  182,  215,  216,  217,  218,  231, 
21D,  214-249,  271. 

Shelley,  Percy  Bysshe,  131,  180, 
231,  256. 

Smith,  F.  Hopkinson,  233. 

Smith,  S.  F..41. 

Southey,  Robert,  64,  152. 

Spencer.  Herbert,  34. 

Spenser,  Edmund,  231. 

Stedman,  Edmund  Clarence, 
231. 

Sterne,  Laurence,  143. 

Stevenson,  Robert  Louis  Bal- 
four, 28,  120,  231,  232,  233. 

Stockton,  Frank  R.,  28,  233. 

Story,  William  Wetmore,  121. 

Stowe,  Mrs.  Harriet  Elizabeth 
Beecher,  28. 

Swift,  Jonathan  (Dean),  139. 

Swinburne,  Algernon  Charles, 
119. 

Tennyson,  Alfred  (Lord),  42,  56, 
88,  89,  90,  93,  98,  111,  112,  113, 
115,  117,  119,  120,  121,  125,  148, 
169,  175,  176,  178,  184,  195,  231, 
241,  250-254,  256,  271. 

Thackeray  .William  Makepeace, 
50,  56,  145,  233. 

Thompson-Seton,  Ernest,  28,  91. 

Thoreau,  Henry  David,  232. 

Tolstoy,  Count  Lyoff  (i.e.  Leo), 18. 

Trollope,  Anthony,  233. 

Twain,  Mark  (Samuel  L.  Clemens), 
27.  233. 

Van  Dyke,  Henry,  140,  231. 

Very,  Jones,  122. 

Virgil  (L.  Publius  Virgilius  Maro), 

121,  124. 
Voltaire  (Francois  Marie  Arouet) , 

139. 

Wallace,  Lewis,  233. 

Warner.  Charles  Dudley,  232, 265. 

Washington,  Booker  T.,  232. 


276 


INDEXES. 


Washington,  George,  233. 
Webster,  Daniel,  41,  53,  218,  233. 
Wendell,  Barrett,  232. 
Weyman,  Stanley  J.,  233. 
White,  Joseph  Blanco,  122. 
White,  Stewart  Edward,  233. 
White,  William  Allen,  233. 
Whittier,    John    Greenleaf,  10, 
82,  83,  127,  231. 


Willis,  Nathaniel  P.,  241. 
Winthrop,  Theodore,  76,  77. 
Wister,  Owen,  233. 
Wolfe,  Charles,  116. 
Wordsworth,    William,   40,   116, 

122,    123,    131,     176,     177,     181, 

231. 
Young,  Edward,  167. 


II.     GENERAL   INDEX. 


Alexandrine,  114. 
Alliteration,  119. 
Allusion,  166. 
Amphibrach,  110. 
Anapest,  110. 
Anecdote,  25,  136. 
Antithesis,  171. 
Antonym,  32. 
Apostrophe  (figure),  179. 
Apostrophe  (punctuation) ,  242. 
Appendix  A,  235-238. 
Appendix  B,  239-242. 
Appendix  C,  243-270. 
Argumentation,  190-226. 

Inductive  Reasoning,  191,  198. 

Kinds  of  Propositions,  197. 

Deductive  Reasoning,  198. 

Thb  Syllogism,  199. 

Antecedent  Probability,  203. 

Suppressed  Premise,  204. 

Argument  from  Cause,  205. 

Argument  from  Effect,  207. 

Method  of  Exclusion,  209. 

Argument  from  Sign,  210. 

Argument  from  Analogy,  211. 

Testimony,  212. 

Refutation,  213. 

Persuasion,  216. 

Argumentative  Oration,  218. 

Debate,  218. 

Questions  Suitable  for  Debate,  224. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  Rules,  224. 

Subiects  for  Argumentation,  225. 
Art  of  Composition,  9-19. 


Art  of  Reading, 
Articulation,  6. 
Assonance,  119. 


1-8. 


Biography,  103. 

Type  of,  264-267. 
Book  Review,  How  to  write,  151. 

Caesura,  117. 

Chart,  Chronological,  271. 

Climax,  171. 

Colon,  239. 

Comma,  240. 

Composition.  Art  of,  9-19. 

Correspondence,  235. 

Dactyl,  110. 

Dash,  242. 

Debate,  How  to  prepare,  220. 

Deductive  Reasoning,  198. 

Definition  of  Words,  30. 

Description,  76-93. 

Three  Types,  76. 

Point  of  View,  79. 

Objective  and  Subjective,  82. 

Methods,  83. 

How  to  write  a  Description,  86. 
Of  a  Person,  88. 
Of  Animals,  89. 
Of  Plants,  89. 
Digression,  188. 
Dimeter,  114. 
Drama.  95.  97. 

Type  of,  244-249. 


GENERAL   INDEX. 


277 


English,  35-36. 

Colloquial,  35. 

Illiterate;  35. 

Literary,  35. 
Epic,  95,  124. 
Epithet,  178. 

Essay  Formal,  Type  of,  259-261. 
Essay  Informal,  Type  of,  261-263. 
Exclamation  (figure),  182. 
Exclamation  (punctuation),  241. 
Explanation,  16. 
Exposition,  128-162. 

Practical  Value,  128. 

Intellectual  Value,  129. 

Forms  in  Prose,  129. 

Forms  in  Poetry,  130. 

First  Essential,  130. 

Ordinary  Methods,  133. 

Purpose,  141. 

Criticism,  151. 

School  Essays,  154. 

School  Orations,  154. 

Theme,  155. 

Subjects  for  Essays  and  Orations, 
160. 

Faults :  — 

Of  Oral  Reading,  4. 

Of  Speaking  Voice,  7. 
Figures,  Rhetorical,  41. 
Forms  of  Language,  Literary,  18. 

Heptameter,  114. 
Hexameter,  114. 
Hyperbole,  183. 
Hyphen,  242. 

Iambus,  109. 
Idyll,  95,  250-254. 
Inductive  Reasoning,  191. 
Interrogation  (figure),  182. 
Irony,  170. 

Letters : — 

Business  Letters,  235. 

Letters  of  Friendship,  237. 

Notes  of  Ceremony,  238. 

Official  Letters,  237. 
Litotes,  189. 
Lyric,  126. 


Manuscripts,  How  to  Prepare,  12. 
Metaphor,  44,  174. 
Metonymy,  45,  181. 
Monometer,  114. 

Narration,  20-29. 

Scope,  20. 

Three  Elements,  21. 

Anecdote,  25. 

Dominant  Tone,  27. 

How  to  write  a  Short  Narrative,  28. 
Narration  and  Description  Com- 
bined, 94-105. 

Scope,  94. 

Appropriateness  of  Language,  95. 

Elements,  96. 

Story-Arrangement,  97. 

Drama-Arrangement,  97. 

Ways  of  Beginning  a  Story,  99. 

Story  for  School  Paper,  102. 

Biographical  Sketch,  103. 

Study  of  History  an  Exercise  in 
Narration,  104. 
Narrative  Poem,  Type  of,  257-259. 
Novel,  95. 

Type  of,  267-270. 

Octameter,  114. 

Onomatopoeia,  184. 

Oration,  Argumentative,  218. 

Paragraph,  65-75. 

Typical  Forms,  65. 

Of  Dialogue,  73. 

Of  Conversation,  73. 

Of  Single  Sentence,  74. 

Of  Poetry,  74. 

Editorial,  74. 
Parallel  (figure),  171. 
Parallel  Constructions,  172. 
Pastoral,  95. 

Type  of,  254-256. 
Pentameter,  114. 
Period,  239. 
Personification,  179. 
Persuasion,  216. 
Poetry,  Dramatic,  125. 
Poetry.  Epic,  124. 
Poetry,  Lyric,  126. 


278 


INDEXES. 


Premises,  109. 

Probability,  Antecedent,  203. 
Propositions,  197. 
Punctuation,  239-242. 
Pyrrhic,  112. 

Question  Mark,  241. 
Quotation  Marks,  242. 
Quotation,  Value  of,  39. 

Reading  List,  231-233. 
Refutation,  213. 
Repetition,  168. 
Reviews,  Book,  151. 
Rhyme,  117. 
Rhythm,  117. 

School  Essay,  How  to  write,  154. 
School  Oration,  How  to  write,  157. 
Semicolon,  239. 
Sentences,  49-64. 
Construction,  49. 
Quality  of  Clearness,  49. 
Quality  of  Unity,  51. 
Quality  of  Strength,  53. 
Quality  of  Harmony,  54. 
Grammatical  Correctness,  58. 
Rhetorical  Forms,  59. 
Loose,  59. 
Periodic,  59. 
Balanced,  60. 

Short  and  Long  Sentences,  62. 
Series,  173. 
Simile,  41,  174. 
Slang,  36. 
Sonnet.  121. 
Spelling,  Correct,  12. 
Studies,    Practical,    in    College 
Requirements,  243-270. 
The  Drama :  — 
Julius  Caesar,  244. 
The  Merchant  of  Venice,  246. 
The  Idyll :  - 

Gareth  and  Lynette,  250. 
Elaine,  251. 

Passing  of  Arthur,  252. 
The  Pastoral :  — 

Lycidas,  254. 
The  Narrative  Poem  :  — 

Rime  of  Ancient  Mariner,  257. 


The  Formal  Essay :  — 

Macaulay's  Addison,  259. 
The  Informal  Essay  :  — 

Be  Coverley  Papers,  261. 
The  Biography :  — 

Irving's  Goldsmith,  264. 
The  Novel :  — 

Ivanhoe,  267. 
Style,  163-189. 
Essentials,  163. 
Higher  Qualities,  164. 
Devices  for  securing  Force :  — 

Allusion,  166. 

Epigram,  167. 
Devices  for  securing  Emphasis :  — 

Change  of  Order,  168. 

Repetition,  168. 

Irony,  170. 

Climax,  171. 

Antithesis,  171. 

Parallel,  171. 

Series,  173. 
Devices  for  Securing  Life  :  — 

Simile,  174. 

Metaphor,  174. 

Epithet,  178. 

Personification,  179. 

Apostrophe,  179. 

Metonymy,  181. 

Synecdoche,  181. 

Interrogation,  182. 

Exclamation,  182. 

Hyperhole,  183. 
Narrative  Vividness,  183. 
Effective  Description,  184. 
Devices  for  securing  Variety :  — 

Short  and  Long  Sentences,  187. 

Digression,  188. 

Litotes,  189. 
Smoothness,  189. 
Value  of  Translation,  189. 
Suggestions :  — 
To  Readers,  4,  7,  31,  39,  227-233. 
To  Talkers,  8, 15,  26,  37,  39,  88, 105, 

224. 
To  Writers,  11, 13, 29, 39,  58,  72,  86, 

88,  92,  102,  103,  119,  151, 155, 157, 

161,  220,  224. 
Syllogism,  199. 


GENERAL   INDEX. 


27  (J 


Synecdoche,  45,  46,  181. 
Synonyms,  32. 

Terms,  General  and  Specific,  33. 

Tetrameter,  114. 

Theme,  The,  155. 

Translation,  Value  of,  189. 

Trimeter,  114. 

Trochee,  109. 

Truncated  Foot,  111. 

Types  of  Literature,  Drama,  Idyll, 
Pastoral,  Narrative  Poem,  Es- 
say, Biography,  Novel,  243-270. 

Usage,  36. 

Verse.  Subjects  for,  120. 
Versification,  106-127. 
Time-Beat,  107. 
Standard  Forms,  110. 
Iambus,  109. 
Trochee,  109. 
Dactyl,  110. 
Anapest,  110. 
Amphibrach,  110. 


Substitute  Feet,  111. 

Truncated,  111. 

Pyrrhic,  112. 

Spondee,  112. 
Verse,  113. 
Meter,  113. 
Effect  of  Meters,  114. 
Rhythm,  117. 
Caesural  Pause,  117. 
Rhyme,  117. 
Alliteration,  119. 
Assonance,  119. 

Practice  in  Writing  Verse,  119. 
Sonnet,  121. 
Classification  of  Poetry,  124. 

Narrative,  124. 

Dramatic,  125. 

Lyric,  126. 

Idyllic,  127. 
Vocabulary.  Personal,  38. 
Voluntary  Reading,  227-230. 

Words :  — 
What  they  connote,  33. 
What  they  denote,  33. 


r~ 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  AT  LOS  ANGELES 

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This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 

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English. 


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